


Dark Mage • Fairy Tail

by nogitsunechey (animechey)



Category: Fairy Tail
Genre: F/M, Gen, Pradeshverse (Fairy Tail)
Language: English
Status: In-Progress
Published: 2019-08-10
Updated: 2020-02-23
Packaged: 2020-08-16 03:51:19
Rating: Mature
Warnings: Graphic Depictions Of Violence, Major Character Death
Chapters: 57
Words: 92,414
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/20186566
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/animechey/pseuds/nogitsunechey
Summary: “Don’t judge me, you can’t handle half of what I've dealt with. There’s a reason I do the things I do, and there’s a reason I am who I am.”Jaelyn Fernandes is the younger twin sister of Jellal, and is the strongest Mage Fairy Tail has to offer. Her whole life has been one hell after another just like her brother’s, and she does what she believes she has to in order to make the world they live in a better place - even if that means revealing the past she’s more than desperate to hide from her newfound family.© Chey Eveleigh | 2019





	1. 00 • Story Details

**Rating: ** Mature

**Warnings: **Graphic Depictions of Violence, Major Character Death

**Categories: **F/M, Gen

**Fandom: ** Fairy Tail

**Relationships: **Laxus Dreyar/Original Female Character(s), Cobra/Cubellios | Kinana, Yukino Aguria/Sting Eucliffe, Future Rogue Cheney/Original Female Character(s), Gray Fullbuster/Juvia Lockser, Gray Fullbuster/Original Female Character(s), Natsu Dragneel/Lucy Heartfilia, Levy McGarden/Gajeel Redfox, Bickslow (Fairy Tail)/Original Female Character(s)

**Characters: **Gray Fullbuster, Laxus Dreyar, Jellal Fernandes, Mystogan (Fairy Tail), Natsu Dragneel, Lucy Heartfilia, Erza Scarlet, Happy (Fairy Tail), Cana Alberona, Wendy Marvel, Gajeel Redfox, Sting Eucliffe, Rogue Cheney, Lector (Fairy Tail), Frosch (Fairy Tail), Mirajane Strauss, Elfman Strauss, Lisanna Strauss, Cobra (Fairy Tail), Yukino Aguria, Cubellios | Kinana, Lyon Vastia, Juvia Lockser, Pantherlily, Charle | Carla, Levy McGarden, Gildarts Clive, Makarov Dreyar, Evergreen (Fairy Tail), Bickslow (Fairy Tail), Freed Justine

**Language: **English

**Cover:** (unable to upload) <https://www.deviantart.com/animechey12/art/Dark-Mage-Fairy-Tail-Cover-2-821410024>

**Description:**

"Don't judge me, you can't handle half of what I've dealt with. There's a reason I do the things I do, and there's a reason I am who I am."

Jaelyn Fernandes is the younger twin sister of Jellal, and is the strongest Mage Fairy Tail has to offer. Her whole life has been one hell after another just like her brother’s, and she does what she believes she has to in order to make the world they live in a better place - even if that means revealing the past she’s more than desperate to hide from her newfound family.

© Chey Eveleigh | 2019

**Preview:**

Jaelyn seethes, her fingers twitching as she is forced to watch the people running around the Fairy Tail Guild Hall, laughing and cheering. Well, except for Erza, but that doesn’t come as a surprise to the Dark Mage. After all, ever since the events on that island, the scarlet-haired girl has never been the same, and, while it saddens Jaelyn, she knows that it is for the best that the Requip user never becomes that scared little girl again.

Twisting around a lock of her cobalt hair, Jaelyn feels loneliness stab her lower abdomen, her mind tormenting her with memories of her older brother, and the childhood they spent together - even if it was one full of torment and torture until Jellal made it better, and then sent her away to “keep her safe” as he put it. She is a Dark Mage - a Dark Dragon Slayer - almost as strong, if not stronger than, her brother, but he refused to let her stay on the island all those years ago.

Rumours of him have popped up over the past decade, but she knows only a handful to be true - that there is a “lookalike” on the Magic Council, and is one of the Ten Wizard Saints that goes by the name of “Siegrain,” and that he is amassing some grand army to build something on an island in the middle of nowhere. She knows the former to be true, because Jellal himself told her, and she knows the latter to be partially true also, and that’s because she was on that island for years building the godforsaken thing.

_‘Come get me, big brother,’_ Jaelyn murmurs, her dark green eyes narrowing as they focus on the loud salmon-haired Dragon Slayer teasing the relatively new blonde-haired Celestial Wizard. _‘These wizards are giving me a headache, and I’m not sure how much longer I can keep up the “good” act.’_

_‘Trust me, Jaelyn,’_ Jellal berates in her mind, using Telepathy Magic. _‘You won’t have to do this much longer. The Tower of Heaven is almost complete, and then Lord Zeref can finally be resurrected.’_

_‘From what I’ve heard, he’s worth this. He better not let us down.’_


	2. 0.50 • Spotify Playlist

**Time of Dying | Three Days Grace**

**Monster | Meg & Dia**

**Haunted | Evanescence**

**Control | Halsey**

**White Rabbit | Egypt Central**

**I’m Gonna Show You Crazy | Bebe Rexha**

**Get Out Alive | Three Days Grace**

**Gasoline | Halsey**

**Bring Me to Life | Evanescence**

**Animals | Maroon 5**

**Numb | Linkin Park**

**Nightmare | Avenged Sevenfold**

**Monster | Skillet**

**Courtesy Call | Thousand Foot Crutch**

**Animal I Have Become | Three Days Grace**

** **Dance With The Devil | Breaking Benjamin** **


	3. 0.75 • Quotes that fit too Well

“It’s easier to say you’re a monster than to admit you’re only hurt.”

“Don’t judge me, you can’t handle half of what I've dealt with. There’s a reason I do the things I do, and there’s a reason I am who I am.”

“We all have a past. We all have painful scars. We all have a future. We all have something worth dying for.”

“Having a strong female character doesn’t mean she’s beyond suffering and fragility.”

“We all lose something in war: sometimes our dignity, a gift, something valuable, family, even a friend.”

“It hurts when the memories come back, and crying is the only way to express your pain.”

“I smile, but I have suffered, and my pain can become my strength, but my burden may become my undoing.”

“Every truth lies behind a joke, every lie is hidden under a promise, and every pain can be found beneath the words “I’m okay”.”

“The only time a goodbye is painful is when you know you’ll never say hello again.”

“My wisdom is from experience. My passion comes from pain. My confidence hides insecurities. My calm hides a storm. My strength is an illusion. My past does not define me.”

“No one notices your tears, no one notices your sadness and no one notices your pain, but they all notice your mistakes.”

“There’s always a little truth behind every “just kidding”, a little knowledge behind every “I don’t know”, a little emotion behind every “I don’t care”, and a little pain behind every “it’s okay”.”

“The loneliest people are the kindest, the saddest people smile the brightest, and the most damaged people are the wisest, all because they don’t wish to see anyone else suffer the way they did.”

“Not all scars show. Not all wounds heal. Sometimes you can’t see the pain that someone feels.”

“The most painful “goodbyes” are the ones that are never “said” and never “explained”.”

“The broken will always be able to love harder than most. Once you’ve been in the dark, you learn to appreciate everything that shines.”

“The most painful goodbyes are the ones that were never expected or explained.”

“Every heart has a pain, only the way of expression is different. Some hide it in their eyes while some hide it in their smile.”

“Where’s the “good” in “goodbye”? Where’s the “nice” in “nice try”? Where’s the “us” in “trust” gone?”

“Do you know how painful it is to see you fight for me, to cry for me, when we both know I don’t have much left to live?”

“You see my smile, but not my pain.”

“The ones with the brightest smile and the loudest laughs have the most painful past.”

“Sometimes even tears are not enough to describe the pain.”

“Pain is your friend. Pain is your ally. Pain tells you when you have been wounded badly. But you know what the best thing about pain is? It tells you you’re not dead yet!”

“Sometimes tears are a sign of unspoken happiness and a smile is a sign of silent pain.”

“I’m stressed, I’m scared, I’m hurt, I’m lonely, I’m suffering, I’m broken, and I want to talk about it, but who would want to listen to my problems? So I keep smiling.”

“OTP...? Oh the pain…”

“When your mind is exposed to so much pain, nothing feels sad anymore; everything becomes laughable instead…”

“When it comes to people you really love…, you don’t care about yourself.”

“No one ever said it would be this hard… Oh, take me back to the start.”

“People think being strong is not to feel pain, but, the truth is, to be strong you have to experience pain.”

“No matter how much we try, no matter how much we want it, some stories just don’t have a happy ending.”


	4. 01 • The New Celestial Wizard

Jaelyn looks over her shoulder as the inevitable comes to pass - the pink-haired Dragon Slayer arrives back at the Guild Hall, but he has some blonde chick in tow that the Mage knows is going to cause some trouble. As soon as Natsu collides with everybody's favourite Ice Make Wizard, a brawl ensues that drags half the Guild into a swirling dust storm that makes Jaelyn sigh and hold her head in her hands. 

She dodges out of the way of a flying barrel - no doubt one of Cana’s - and stares down at the cover of her closed book, having given up the moment she sensed Natsu heading towards the Guild Hall. Jaelyn stands and heads towards the bar, where there’s, surprisingly, less brawling and blood, sitting down and giving Mira a disbelieving look. Hardly a second later, a naked Gray slams into the wooden bar beside Jaelyn, making the cobalt-haired Mage smile softly at the slightly younger idiot.

“You alright there, Gray?” she laughs at the dark-haired male.

He grins at her and winks. “Perfectly fine.”

“Oi, Ice Princess! You giving up?” Natsu bellows across the half-destroyed Guild Hall. “Get back over here and let me kick your ass!”

Jaelyn rolls her eyes. “You better give him what he wants before he destroys the whole place.”

“Sounds like a plan.” Gray rolls his shoulders and walks back over to Natsu. “Whatever you say, you pyromaniac!”

Despite her irritation with the majority of the Mages in Fairy Tail, there are a select few that she has the ability to stomach - and even some that she considers to be her friends since they’ve been through so much together. So, that really only means Erza, Mirajane, Laxus, Gildarts and Mystogan, maybe even Levy every so often. However, with two out of the six of them being away on missions almost constantly, it cuts down on Jaelyn’s ability to communicate with those certain members of the Guild. 

Outside of Fairy Tail, she has a handful of friends, but she’s aware that it’s the best idea _ not _ to mention names - or the Guilds they happen to be in. However, despite their large age gap, she is somewhat friends with two young boys she found wandering around last year, and she was startled to learn that they were both Dragon Slayers like herself - and Natsu, and her three other friends. She knows that one of them considered joining Phantom Lord not long ago, but she isn't too sure about the other.

Glancing up to the second floor, Jaelyn catches sight of the Lightning Dragon Slayer walking away from the railing. She sighs and heads up the stairs to the S-Class only area, leaning against the railing and staring at the blond-haired Mage sitting on one of the chairs, Magic Headphones on and Classic Rock & Roll coming through them. Walking over to the older man, she sits down beside him and stares up at the ceiling, noting how he peers down at her.

“What’s the matter with you, blue?” Laxus grumbles, stopping his music and removing his Headphones. “I thought you’d be up for that mess down there.”

Jaelyn shrugs. “Not today, I guess. Honestly, I don’t want to be here today, but I can’t exactly vanish into the night right now, can I?”

“What, this not dark enough for you?”

“They’re shadows, not darkness, you blond idiot.”

“Same shit.”

“Hardly.” The cobalt-haired Dark Dragon Slayer looks at Laxus. “Darkness is the state of being dark; a lack of light, while shadow is a dark image projected onto a surface where light is blocked by the shade of an object.”

Laxus laughs. “Look who swallowed a dictionary!”

“Yeah, well, when there’s a both a Shadow Slayer and a Dark Slayer out there, people need to learn the difference between us, sparky.”

“That’s fair enough, blue.”

Jaelyn hums and heads over to the railing, resting her arms on it and staring down at the fray below, watching with a smirk as a still butt-naked Gray asks if he can borrow the new blonde Celestial Mage’s underwear. Despite her and the Ice Make Mage no longer being together, it doesn’t mean that she can’t admire what the formerly wiry male has become, and she’s sure as hell that she isn't the only one doing so.

No matter that everyone has seen him naked at least several times since he came here not long after his master, Ur, sacrificed herself to save him and Lyon what feels like a decade ago, some can’t help but have their eyes drawn to him. He’s not ugly by any means, and he’s more fit than he appears to be, and he’s also quite a talented Mage.

Laxus startles Jaelyn from her thoughts as he steps up behind her, a hand coming to rest on her lower back as he peers down at the still continuing brawl, lips twisting in some sort of amusement and disgust. Where his hand sits, she can feel the heat from his hand seep through her dark shirt and warm up her nearly freezing skin. She lets out a small sigh and briefly closes her eyes, smiling softly at the comforting warmth coming from the least likely person.

“What do you think about our newest member?” Jaelyn asks with a sly smile, already knowing the older male’s answer. “I know she just got here, but I want to know your first impression.”

Laxus snorts in amusement. “She has a decent amount of Magical Power, but I’m not entirely sure she can hold her own. I give her a month at the most, if that. Other than that, she’s okay looking.”

“Such low expectations, and she’s a little more than being just “okay looking,” you blond asshole.”

“Yeah, well, she could be worse.”

Jaelyn looks over her shoulder at him. “You told me that I was “okay looking” when I was with Gray, which was three years ago mind you, and she’s lucky to be two years younger than me.”

“What do you want me to say? I was an asshole, and I lied.”

“You’re still an asshole.”

“But you like me, don’t you?” Laxus smirks down at her, leaning close enough to teasingly bite her. “I don’t see you complaining, blue.”

Jaelyn punches him in the gut and grins down at his prone form, baring her sharpened canines. “How’s that for complaining, sparky?”

**••••**

**Hey, superwolves!**

**I haven't uploaded anything on Wattpad for a while - or on here either - so I've decided to give y'all a taste of my attempt of a _Fairy Tail_ fanfiction with an OC as the main. As you should be able to tell by now, she's a Slayer, and she's Jellal's twin sister.**

**So, here's a little bit of Laxus and Jaelyn, and some Gray and Jaelyn. I will go into more depth with her relationships with the two, but I'm not sure how much I'm going to tell y'all just yet - or how exactly their dynamics are going to work.**

**Also, if you noticed, I made a few references to the other Slayers - except Wendy, because I have no way for Jaelyn to know about her before the whole Nirvana incident - which is still a while away. Speaking of the Nirvana thing, I'm thinking of actually making that pretty early in the book because I can't exactly remember many major events before it - except Phantom Lord, Lullaby, Galuna Island, the Tower of Heaven and the Fairy Tail Battle.**

**The whole Edolas arc is going to be huge for Jaelyn, and so is the Grand Magic Games. I didn't particularly like the whole Infinity Clock arc, so I'm kind of thinking of having Jaelyn going off to be with Jellal, Ultear and Meredy during that time. What do you think?**

**Anyway, I hope you all like this so far.**

**\- Chey xo -**


	5. 02 • Sing me a Lullaby

Jaelyn watches with amusement as Natsu somewhat easily defeats Erigor, but she knows that this is only the beginning. There is much worse to come on this day - something by the name of Lullaby; something from the Book of Zeref. She doesn’t know much about this Demon, but she knows enough for it to give her concern as to whether this team - dubbed Fairy Tail’s Strongest Team - will be able to defeat it with just the five of them. Well, the five of them and an Exceed.

Natsu, Lucy and Happy hurry to where the flute is, Jaelyn hot on their heels, and the determination of them all seems to be almost palpable. By the time they reach the valley, the flute has transformed into a giant monster, and Gray and Erza have rejoined them. Also, the Master of nearly every Guild Jaelyn can think of - excluding Dark Guilds, of course - have amassed on the cliff closest to the creature, and it’s then that she realises this is where they meet on regular intervals.

“That monster _is_ the Lullaby,” Makarov informs with a growl. “In other words, it's Living Magic.”

“That's Zeref's magic,” another Guild Master exclaims.

“Living magic? Zeref? Isn't he ancient history?” another demands.

“The Black Wizard Zeref was the most evil wizard in the history of the Magical World!” yet another Master declares, this one with something akin to delight and wonder. “To think that a part of his legacy would appear before us after all these centuries!”

Jaelyn rolls her eyes and crosses her arms over her chest. “Lullaby, Deliora, both of them are works of Zeref, and there are many more out there.”

Gray shoots her a look. “What?! How the hell do you know that?”

“The Book of Zeref.”

Everything around them suddenly begins to die, the entirety of their life being sucked from the plants and trees and small animals, everything withering and dying. To make matters worse, Jaelyn feels a strange tugging sensation and her head begins to spin, and, by taking one look at the others, she can tell that she’s not the only one. The true power of Lullaby is being released, and they’re all about to become food for the beast unless they defeat it quickly.

Natsu is the first to speak up. “Let's go!”

“Right! _Requip_!” Erza declares. “_Heaven's Wheel_!”

“_Ice Make: Lance_,” Gray says.

“Take this!” Natsu growls. “_Fire Dragon Iron Fist_!”

Jaelyn grins almost sadistically and launches herself at the Demon. “_Dark Mass_!”

Everyone can hear the exclamations of the Guild Masters on the cliff: “He's punching with fire! That one’s using darkness magic! And this one's an ice wizard! She's requipping armour!” It’s somewhat distracting for Natsu and Jaelyn who can hear them almost perfectly, but they force themselves to focus on destroying this Demon before it kills anyone else.

Lullaby roars. “You're really pissing me off now!” 

“How about another one?” Natsu asks cheekily. “_Fire Dragon Wing Attack_!”

Jaelyn cackles. “_Dark Rondo_!”

“Amazing! I've never seen such a combination attack before!” the Masters continue to exclaim. “Their movements are perfectly in sync!”

“I don't have a good feeling about this,” Jaelyn hears Lucy say.

“Here comes the lullaby! The plants are withering! It's the curse of the lullaby!”

Lullaby laughs. “I'll be dining on your souls!” Its tune changes drastically - literally and figuratively. “What the heck?! It didn't do anything!” The sound that comes out is almost demented. “What's with this sound? What happened to my beautiful sound?!”

“I see! After those attacks from before, they opened up a bunch more holes, so he can't play properly.”

“So after all this build up, this is the punchline?!” Natsu complains. “Look, his stomach's empty.”

“How dare you mock me,” the Demon roars angrily.

“He's snapped!” Gray grins. “_Ice Make: Shield_!”

The fight takes a drastic turn, putting Jaelyn and her Guild Mates on the defensive for a few startling heartbeats. Lullaby’s attacks batter against Gray’s ice shield, weakening it by the second. Jaelyn growls in pain as some debris hits her, and the Ice Make Mage moves his shield to cover more of Jaelyn. However, in their usual style, they clap back twice as hard.

“_Ice Make: Saucer_,” Gray declares. “Natsu! Jaelyn! Now!”

“All right!” Natsu grins. “With the flame of my right hand and the flame of my left hand, when you combine the flames together… Try eating some of this! _Fire Dragon Brilliant Flame_!”

Jaelyn cracks her knuckles and smirks. “_Dark Oblivion_!”

“Combined attack, _Burning Oblivion Dragon_!”


	6. 03 • Iced Shell Deliora

Jaelyn only came along on this mess of a mission because Happy decided to be a sneak and take an S-Class Request, and because Laxus did nothing to stop the blue Exceed from doing it. However, right now, she’s seriously regretting coming here because a) there’s a member of Grimoire Heart on this island, and b) she hates seeing Gray so broken and low.

Gray pulls away from the Dark Dragon Slayer’s comforting touch and rips his shirt off, planting his feet shoulder-width apart and throwing his arms out in front of him, crossed at his forearms and hands flat. Jaelyn’s widen in horror and she swears that her heart skips a beat as a light blue Magic Circle appears under the Ice Make Mage’s feet. Her body shakes and her hands clench by her sides, her eyes filling with anger and tears alike. She thought he was done with this, but apparently not.

“That pose…” Lyon breathes. “ _ Iced Shell _ !”

“ _ Iced Shell _ ?” Erza asks.

“Ur cast the  _ Iced Shell  _ magic on this Demon,” Gray tells his Guild Mates. “It's a Demon that Ur risked her life to seal away.”

“Didn't you hear? Ur is already dead!" Lyon yells. "You bastard, have you gone mad?

Erza tightens her hold on her sword. “Return the villagers to the way they were, take your friends and leave this island immediately!”

“This is the last chance I will give you,” Gray threatens his former friend.

“I see,” Lyon says with a small, condescending smile. “You think you can bluff me with that Magic? How pointless.”

“I'm serious.”

“Why, you…”

“Gray,” Jaelyn pleads. “I know how you feel, but you have to stop this!”

“No matter how many years pass, it won't change the fact that it's my fault Ur's dead,” Gray bites back. “I have to take responsibility some time. So now's the time. I'm prepared to die. I have been for the past 10 years!”

“You're serious?!” Lyon exclaims.

“Answer me, Lyon! Do we die together or live together?”

“Do it. You don't have the guts to die. There's no way you do!”

“Too bad.”

“Gray!” someone exclaims.

_ ‘Jaelyn, Natsu, Erza, everyone at Fairy Tail… It's up to you now. Sorry, but I'm making my exit! This is the end!’ _ Gray’s voice echoes in Jaelyn’s head, but the next words are out loud. “ _ Iced- _ ”

“You idiot!” Natsu hits Gray, stopping the  _ Iced Shell _ Spell.

“Natsu!” Jaelyn, Erza and Lucy exclaim, Happy making a strange sound alongside them.

“You break into my fight spouting "responsibility?" Give me a break,” the Fire Dragon Slayer snarls at his friend and rival. “Your kill? I'm the one that's gonna beat him! Didn't I tell you that I'd take him down?”

“And did I ever say, "Yes, roger that, sir?"” Gray snaps back.

“Why you little… You wanna go?”

“I have to be the one that finishes him off! I'm prepared to die!”

“Since when is dying finishing a battle? Well? Ain't that just running away, huh?!”

“W-What's that?”

Everything begins to rumble and shake, rubble falling down to where the Fairy Tail wizards are standing. Zalty pokes his head down and cackles, informing everyone that, by using his Arc of Time - a Lost Magic - he rebuilt everything. Jaelyn grits her teeth and glares up at the shape-shifter - at a member of Grimoire Heart, the leader of the 7 Kin of Purgatory and daughter of Gray’s master, Ur, Ultear Milkovitch.

After a short, really one-sided, battle Ultear disappears - as does Natsu, much to the irritation of the remaining Wizards. 

“Did you count on Natsu stopping me from using Iced Shell?” Gray asks Erza, comfortingly squeezing Jaelyn’s hand as she latches onto him.

“No,” the Requip Mage replies. “I wouldn't imagine that guy getting anywhere near that kind of magic.”

“So you just planned on taking it?”

“Exactly.”

A loud, piercing sound echoes around the underground cavern, driving everyone to cover their ears. Amidst the noise, Jaelyn makes out a voice, or something of the kind, and her stomach drops. She hasn’t heard that voice for years, and it makes chills sweep along her pale and scarred and bruised skin. Where her grip is on the Ice Make Mage, her nails dig in, making him wince.

“G-Gray,” Jaelyn stutters, eyes wide with something akin to horror as she watches the frozen Deliora move.

“Ow!” Lucy complains. “My ears are ringing!”

“What the heck is that sound?” Erza demands. “It's so loud! Here it comes! 

“T-That voice I can never forget it,” Gray says in a low voice. “Deliora… Damn it… Has it been resurrected? I've got no choice then…”

However, despite everything they’ve been through, no fight ensues. Instead, the frozen Deliora melts into the sea and is washed away. Erza, Happy, Lucy and Gray start to head back up to the surface, leaving Jaelyn staring at the spot where what remained of a Demon from the Book of Zeref was not that long ago standing, almost unable to comprehend what she witnessed.

Chewing at the inside of her lip, the cobalt-haired teenager somewhat reluctantly turns away and follows the others back up to the surface of Galuna Island. Picking up Gray’s shirt on the way, she holds it tightly in her hand and hurries over to the Ice Make Mage, punching his shoulder to let out some of her anger at the idiot. He simply smiles apologetically and holds his hand out to her.


	7. 04 • Body Swapped with Lightning

Jaelyn sighs and scans over the Request Board, not finding anything particularly interesting, Lavinia walking over to the younger girl and wrapping her arms around the other Slayer’s middle, chin resting on her shoulder. Truth be told, she’s been standing here for a while and just staring at the fliers, not sure what she’s really looking for. It’s been a few weeks since the blonde Celestial Mage - Lucy Heartfilia, daughter of Jude and Layla Heartfilia - joined the guild, and very little has happened. 

A loud commotion makes the cobalt-haired girl turn away from the Board and her eyes widen in shock at the complete disarray of the room; Natsu is freaking out, Loke looks like he’s about to be sick, Happy appears to be having an existential crisis, Erza is continuously Requiping, Gray is shivering and trying to stop Lucy from stripping her clothes. Laxus steps down next to her and crosses his arms over his chest, staring at their Guild Mates with a somewhat amused expression, Lavinia having a wide-eyed look and a slowly growing devious smile on her face.

“What the fuck?” Jaelyn exclaim. “Gray, wanna tell me what the hell is going on?”

Lucy turns towards her and starts speaking in a slightly lower voice. “How the hell should I know? My chest is freaking heavy. Like really, really heavy! My back is killing me too!”

“Well damn,” Laxus says with something akin to concern. “Changeling. Just be glad it didn’t get us.”

Lavinia laughs. “I reckon it’d be good fun, big brother.”

Minutes pass and soon time is running out faster than everyone would like. Levy is trying her best to translate the Request from the ancient language it’s written in, but it’s taking much longer than she believed it to, and everyone is cheering her on, which cannot be helping her case. She soon announces that the ancient writing means "with this eternal swapping, may you be forever happy,” and Jaelyn feels her stomach churn at the thought of being trapped in someone else’s body for the rest of time.

“Here I go,” Levy eventually declares. “Aruboroya tesura rugi gouu!”

However, it doesn’t go exactly to plan. 

Natsu and Loke go back with no problem, as well as Gray and Lucy, but everyone else, not so much. Erza and Happy are still switched, and more members of the Guild end up body switched as well: Cana and Elfman, Mirajane and Makarov, Jet and Droy, Bickslow and Lavinia and Jaelyn and Laxus. That drives everyone into panic mode, and it’s not particularly pretty. At the further panic, they all hear Lavinia and Bickslow burst into laughter, the latter having to hold onto the Lightning Slayer’s arm, lest he lose his footing in the older girls’ body, and the former having to suddenly take hold of a table, lest she end up toppling in the younger male’s lanky body.

The Dark Dragon Slayer yelps at the sudden boost to her height and takes hold of the bar, almost crushing it due to her newfound strength. “Shit! Who’d I get switched with?!”

Below her, Laxus isn't adjusting any better. “What the hell? I’ve shrunk!”

“Laxus?”

“Jaelyn?”

Jaelyn looks down at her hands and finds Laxus’ in their place. “Oh, hell yeah!”

The Lightning Dragon Slayer jolts as she zaps him. “Hey! Don’t do that.”

“This is fun. I never knew Lightning Magic was such a rush! You should so teach me some time, sparky!” Jaelyn laughs as lightning runs across her knuckles. “Ooh! So much potential, and it’s so fucking light!”

“Your magic on the other hand, is as dark as they come. I wonder why?” Laxus flinches under the glare she sends him from his body. “I ain’t gonna say anything. Calm down, blue.”

Lavinia looks between the pair, a wide grin on her face, and it’s strange, knowing that it’s the kind blonde Slayer in Bickslow’s body and not the Seith Mage. Jaelyn grins at Bickslow and slings her arm around his shoulders, Laxus’ body towering over that of even his twins’ and making quite the spectacle. Laxus looks over at his little sister and shakes his head, watching as she controls Bickslow’s babies, sending them flying around the room in a seemingly random pattern, but one that the four Mages are quite easily able to decipher.

Somehow the spell gets broken by Levy and Lucy, forcing everyone back into their own bodies. Lavinia and Bickslow share devious grins, having wreaked havoc whilst in the other’s body, leaving the original owner to deal with the repercussions of their mischievous deeds. Jaelyn playfully complains because she can no longer use Lightning Magic, but she’s glad to be back in her own body despite its scars and limitations and brands. Tracing her fingers over the tattoo on her neck, she wishes for her brother to be here with her despite his need to be at the Tower of Heaven.

“You know, I never realised just how powerful you are, Jaelyn,” Laxus tells Jaelyn a while later at her apartment, sitting at her dining table and munching on the food she finished making. “This is good. You’re getting better at cooking.”

“What’s with all the compliments and praising, sparky? It isn't like you, and we both know that.”

“I know that I’m an asshole to everyone, but you don’t deserve that after everything you’ve been through. The Tower of Heaven, losing your Dragon, being forced to join-”

Jaelyn’s hand becomes shrouded in darkness and she slaps it over Laxus’ mouth, glaring at him through slitted eyes. “Say their name and I will not hesitate to rip your tongue out. We never know who might be listening and whether or not they’ll go and tell the wrong people.”

“I can’t tell whether you’re afraid of being found out by the Guild or by the old geezer.”

“Makarov knows, and I’m not afraid of being found out. There are just some things that should not be fucking said out loud.”

Laxus grips Jaelyn’s wrist and pulls her over to him, staring down at her with a blank expression, and she returns the look, albeit annoyed that he almost sent the food she made flying. “Look, this ain’t gonna sound like me, but I don’t give a fuck.”

“If you say anything about caring about me or having “feelings” for me, I will punch you.”

“In that case, I’ll just not speak.”

Before Jaelyn can react, the Lightning Dragon Slayer is kissing her, and, while she can’t outright say that she hasn’t missed the feeling, she can’t also say that she has missed it. Her mind is at war, so her instincts take over, and that means the side of her mind that wants this technically won over the more logical side that said she shouldn’t.

_ ‘Damn you, Laxus,’ _ Jaelyn berates him using her Telepathy Magic.  _ ‘You just had to go and do this.’ _

_ ‘I don’t see you complaining, blue,’ _ Laxus retorts smugly.

_ ‘I’m halfway there.’ _

_ ‘Then stay halfway and enjoy it.' _


	8. 05 • Mystogan, Edolas’ Prince

Jaelyn senses him coming before anyone else, and she quickly erects a barrier around her that prevents the use of magic on the wizard’s object of choice. Before the S-Class Wizard even sets foot in Fairy Tail, all the members are out cold, excluding the Guild Master, who is fighting against the potent magic, and Jaelyn, who is currently protected from the Sleep Magic. He comes into the Guild Hall, coat flapping behind him, and walks up to where Makarov is sitting on the bar, the older man’s face screwed up as he tries to fight back against the powerful magic.

The Dark Dragon Slayer watches them share a few words as Mystogan takes a request from the board, but she doesn’t hear what it is that they say exactly. The moment the mysterious man heads back towards the door, Jaelyn rises to her feet and stands in front of the man, making him stop in his tracks, eyes peering down at her through the slot between the cloth on his lower face and the headgear atop his head. They seem impressed, and rather amused, to the young Slayer, but she simply puts one hand on her hip and tilts her head to the side.

“You and I need to have a little chat, _ Mystogan _,” the cobalt-haired girl says with a blank expression.

“Is that so?” the masked man replies. “I suppose we do as this has been a long time coming, and you need answers. However, the Guild Hall is not the best place for such a discussion.”

“Oh? Where do you suggest we talk then?”

“Your apartment would be suitable. It is away from prying eyes and no one would dare enter your home, _ Dragon Slayer _.”

“That’s fine with me. If you want further discretion, come at dark.”

“I understand.”

Jaelyn gives the mysterious man one final look over before returning to her seat at the table and continuing to read her book as the other S-Class wizard leaves the guild, releasing his Sleep Magic. It takes a while, but the Fairy Tail wizards soon return to consciousness, and, like usual, the pink-haired Fire Dragon Slayer has a few choice things to say that make Jaelyn wish he stayed asleep. Once noise returns to the Guild, she finds it difficult to continue reading, so she snaps her book closed and returns to her small home; an apartment not too far from Fairy Tail.

Flopping onto her bed, she re-opens her book and continues to read, skimming over the lovey-dovey parts that make her want to puke more than anything as she waits for the sun to dip lower in the azure sky and eventually vanish beneath the mountains. It’s not until she’s finished her current book and another that such things have come to pass, her stomach growling and begging for food. Her being a Dark Dragon Slayer makes it hard for her to find food during the day, but she has found that there is more than enough darkness in the alcoves of the world - which means she’s better reserved for night jobs, or ones in dark places.

The opening and closing of her front door tells Jaelyn that her guest has arrived just on time, like he usually does. Mystogan walks into the apartments small kitchen just as the First Generation Dragon Slayer chomps down on the darkness she found hanging around the small room. She waves her greeting as she swallows the darkness before pushing the plate of actual food towards the wizard as he takes a seat across from her.

“I thought you might be hungry, so I whipped something up. Figured you can’t eat darkness, and I didn’t wanna be rude by not offering you anything.”

Mystogan smiles behind his mask. “Thank you, Jaelyn. You didn’t have to go to all this trouble though.”

“It’s not just yours, idiot. I can’t live on darkness alone - that’s mainly so I can use my Magic. Kind of need a reserve for daytime because there’s not much dark around with the light.”

“I understand.”

Jaelyn smirks and raises her hand, moving her fingers and using her Telekinesis Magic to remove her guest’s mask, making him panic and go after the cloth. “I thought as much, but I wasn’t certain. You’re not a Thought Projection, are you, _ Jellal _?”

“No, I’m not. I’m from a place called Edolas.” Mystogan’s eyes search her. “Then again, neither are you. You’re different from other First Generation Dragon Slayers.”

“So you’ve realised who and what I am, have you? Well, not exactly considering that you haven’t figured it all out yet.” She laughs and picks a handful of darkness from the room. “You see, while I was born in this time alongside my older twin, this worlds’ Jellal, after he sent me away, I was somehow transported back in time to when the Dragons were still alive and kicking.”

Mystogan stays quiet and listens to the girl, eating some of the food she made for them.

“I had been reverted back to being four or five, so I was unable to fend for myself. Then a big black Dragon found me and taught me Dragon Slayer Magic - Magic that I’d only heard about but never seen in person. Years went by and the time for the Dragons to vanish was approaching. So, that’s what she did - vanish without a trace and leave me to find a way to survive. I ended up finding Erza by the time I arrived back in the time I first was forced to leave my brother in, and we searched for Fairy Tail - the guild an old man we knew was in before... before he died. That’s how I came to be a Dark Dragon Slayer, and how I came to be in Fairy Tail, but I’m sure your story is much more interesting.”

The man shakes his head and gives her a soft smile. “Hardly. Edolas is nothing like Earth Land, and, while it is my home, I had to leave in order to close all the Anima that suck the magic from this world and transport it to mine. My younger twin sister, Jaelyn, was killed at the time I was seriously injured and rescued by an Exceed called Panther Lily. If she were alive now, she’d look just like you. So, in a way, watching you grow up from afar feels like I watched my own sister grow up.”

Jaelyn raises an eyebrow at him. “You do realise how creepy that sounded, _ brother from another world? _”

He recoils and gives her an apologetic, embarrassed smile as he scratches the back of his head. “Yeah, sorry. I realised what it sounded like once it came out.”

She watches with a small smile at the Edolas version of her twin brother continues to eat, her dark green eyes searching his face for any sign that this man might differ from her older twin brother, but the Dragon Slayer finds nothing. Jaelyn sighs and picks at the food on the plate between them, not feeling overly hungry after talking with Mystogan. She does somewhat wish that he were a Thought Projection from her brother so she could talk to him in person, in a way at least, but she’s also glad that he’s not.

Mystogan startles her from her thoughts as he speaks. “So, now that you know the truth about me, what do you plan on doing?”

“I was going to ask you the same,” Jaelyn murmurs. “However, I know you won’t go telling the Guild who I am, and you know that I wouldn’t give up your identity. It’s not just because you look exactly like my brother, it’s more because you’re a good person who’s trying to save my world.”

“I see.”

“Mystogan - no, Jellal-” she looks up at the Mage- “I want to know something.”

“Of course. Ask anything you want.”

“Did you and your sister share the same mind in a way? Like you had your memories and Magic…”

“But also had hers?”

Jaelyn nods hesitantly, fearing her question would have the answer she feared. 

Mystogan gives her a smile. “Yes. My Jaelyn and I shared our memories for the few years she was alive.”

“When I found out that my Jellal and I shared a mind after I was sent away, thrown back in time, and then "joined” Fairy Tail, I began to think that I was just one of his Thought Projections that he didn’t mean to create, and my past was just a lie - that _ I _ was a lie.”

“You’re in no way a lie, little sister.” Those two little words flow from his mouth easily as his hands move to hold hers. “Don’t let anyone think you’re anything but real, and strong.”

Jaelyn smiles, not berating him for calling her his little sister. “Thank you, Jellal.”

The two Wizards spend hours talking about their respective siblings, and Mystogan is a little embarrassed to admit that he and Jaelyn’s brother do think alike in some respects, but he would never act upon his thoughts - the sign that they’re opposites. Another thing that Jaelyn finds is that Mystogan is not chaotic like her brother currently is - has been since Zeref’s spirit possessed him when they were kids - and that there is actually a physical difference between Edolas Jellal and Earth Land Jellal. 

He’s embarrassed as he pulls his cobalt blue hair away from the side of his neck to reveal a decent sized scar, and then regales the story of how he got it; how he lost his sister at such a young age. By the end of the story, Jaelyn finds herself in tears, hand covering her mouth and her eyes wide and full of hot, salty tears. At the arrival of her tears, Mystogan hurries to pull the younger girl into a hug, comforting her and shushing her crying. She clings to his clothes and rests her forehead against his chest, allowing him to comfort her, knowing that this may be the closest she will ever get to holding her brother again.

“Listen to me, Jaelyn,” Mystogan says softly, running his hand down her hair. “You will both live, and you will see your brother again. This is a promise.”

“What will happen to me if he dies?” Jaelyn asks brokenly. “You survived when your me died, so does that mean…”

“You’re not going to die.”

**••••**

**Hey, superwolves!**

**Fun fact for this chapter: it was the first one I wrote for the story!**

**\- Chey xo -**


	9. 06 • Phantom Lord’s Arrival

Jaelyn stares up at the Fairy Tail Guild Hall - or what remains of it - with a blank expression. Gigantic iron rods pierce the once great building, telling everyone that war has been declared - and it’s being declared by Phantom Lord. This is the handiwork of her friend and, while there is some sort of beauty to it, it irritates her to know that there had been a possibility of her, Gray or Laxus getting injured by this.

Turning on her heel, the Dark Mage stalks through the streets of Magnolia, searching for the Phantom Lord Guild Hall, or, at least, the feeling of Gajeel or Juvia’s Magical Power. Once she latches onto it, Jaelyn follows it like a hound on the trail, not stopping until she stands before the Hall of the borderline Dark Guild. Without waiting for any kind of invitation, she shoves the doors open and walks in, leading everyone inside to jump to their feet and prepare to fight.

Making an amused sound at those who do attack, she flicks her hand and sends them flying with very little effort using her Telekinesis, some she grips tightly with her twins’ Darkness Magic spell Dark Grab, slamming their heads together before throwing them against the stone walls. Laughter arises from where the light from the open doors does not reach, and everyone backs away from Jaelyn the moment her hands become encased in darkness.

“What can I do for you, _ Dark Dragon _?” Gajeel chuckles, looking over at her with slitted red eyes. “Did you see what I did to that precious Guild Hall of yours?”

“You know I do not care for the Guild Hall, or many of those in it, but you put the lives of two people I care about in danger.” Jaelyn walks over to her friend and punches the Iron Dragon Slayer, holding back so she doesn’t seriously hurt the older man. “You of all people should have told me what you were planning so I could have made sure they weren’t there, Gajeel!”

“Shit! I didn’t know you actually _ cared _ for anyone there.”

“I didn’t think I ever would, but I did - I _ do _ . Don’t you dare hurt any of them, because, if you do, you will have to deal with _ me _ , and I will _ not _ hold back.”

Gajeel simply nods and chomps down on some iron, a common habit of his. Jaelyn smiles and sits down, pulling darkness from the depths of the Guild and having some for herself, finding that it tastes different to that of other darkness. The silence of Phantom Lord is nice compared to the loud ruckus of Fairy Tail, but she should know better than to think that it will last.

“I heard you attacked Fairy Tail, Gajeel!” a stupid member of the Dark Guild says with laughter, walking over to Gajeel and Jaelyn. “I bet they're all feelin' really blue right about now! Serves 'em right, you know?”

““I've told you before-” Gajeel’s arm turns into a rod of iron and slams the weaker Mage into the stone walls of the Guild Hall- “don't talk to me when I'm eating.” Then he grins. “Trash! Who cares about those Fairy Butts? We're more powerful than them.”

“The seed has been sown,” Master Jose says from high above them on his seat. “Excellent work, Gajeel.”

“That trash won't act from just that. So I left them an extra little present.”

Jaelyn shoots Gajeel a scathing look. “Who did you hurt?!”

Gajeel chuckles. “Some blue-haired chick and her friends. She reminded me of you, kinda.”

With a cry of “Dark Dragon Burning Claw,” this time, she doesn’t hold back. His head crashes against one of the tables and he coughs up blood at the sudden attack, red eyes wide with horror and disbelief. Jaelyn trembles as she holds the Iron Slayer’s head firmly against the table, staring down at the one who hurt one of the people she cares about. Nobody dares to move to stop her or help Gajeel, not even Master Jose, and that’s because they all know that Jaelyn can easily kill them.

“You should have really talked to me first, you fucker,” Jaelyn says calmly, sending chills down the spines of many Phantom Lord wizards. “If you had, you would have known that the girl you’ve hurt is someone I do care about.” Gajeel growls as she encases her hand in Darkness Magic. “One of these days your cockiness will be the end of you, and I’m going to be there to see it, _ old friend _.”

“Jaelyn…”

Picking him up off the table, she throws him to the floor and stalks from the Phantom Lord Guild Hall, the members parting like the sea as she leaves, heading to where she knows Gajeel would have left Levy and the rest of Team Shadow Gear. Once Jaelyn reaches Magnolia’s park, it’s not long before she finds the three of them pinned to the trunk of the giant tree in its centre, a black Phantom Lord Guild Mark etched onto Levy’s currently bared stomach.

Soon enough there’s a crowd around Jaelyn and the tree, everyone scrambling to catch a look of the Mages unconscious and on display for everyone and anyone to see. The cobalt-haired Mage erects a wall of Darkness around herself and the tree, preventing anyone from getting close until someone from Fairy Tail gets there, and she finds that it’s not long before that happens.

“Please, let us through,” she hears Makarov order, and it’s only then that she removes her Magic and allows the older man through. “We're from the guild.”

“Somebody get them down from there,” a member of the Guild who accompanied him exclaims.

Civilians start to talk: “But…” “Look at that mark!” “We'd better steer clear…” and Jaelyn finds herself glaring at the lot of them, making them let out exclamations and back further away. She turns her worried gaze to where a handful of Fairy Tail wizards are removing Levy, Jet and Droy’s unconscious bodies from the rather large tree’s trunk.

“Levy,” Jaelyn hears Lucy exclaim. “Jet! Droy!”

“Phantom?!” another growls.

Jaelyn’s eyes move to Makarov as he starts to give off a powerful aura. “Makarov...”

“I can stand being reduced to a run-down beer hall, but no parent can stand idle while the blood of his children is spilled!” the old man growls out. “To war!”


	10. 07 • Fire and Iron

It’s not every day that Jaelyn’s sees Black Steel Gajeel getting his ass handed to him. Or every day that she sees Salamander get so worked up - or “fired up” as he likes to say. The Iron Dragon Slayer is the only one remaining of Phantom Lord’s S-Class Mages, and, as usual, he is proving to be the hardest to beat. The Element 4 were easily defeated by Natsu, Gray, Lucy and Elfman. 

Well, that is, if you could really call the battle between Gray and Juvia an actual battle. The Rain Woman practically took one look at the Ice Make Mage and gave up, instantly “in love” with the male apparently. Jaelyn somewhat knew that the Water Mage would do that, and she’s somewhat delighted to know that her intuition was right. They both deserve someone like the other, and the Dark Dragon Slayer can tell that they’ll make one hell of a pair once Gray grows accustomed to the Rain Woman.

The drained and exhausted teenage girl can only fall against the metal wall of the giant Phantom Lord robot and slide to the floor as she watches Natsu and Gajeel fight like wild animals, kicking and punching and maybe even scratching, but with more than just claws and hands; with an ancient Magic that swells and grows within their very beings. Jaelyn isn't sure why she’s feeling so utterly weak - or where her Magic has gone - but she has a feeling that Phantom Lord’s Guild Master has something to do with it; to stop her from interfering with his plans of “wiping Fairy Tail out”.

However, even if that creepy bastard were to have something of the sort, surely both Natsu and Gajeel would be feeling its effects also as they too are Dragon Slayers. With this thought in mind, Jaelyn knows that her initial thought cannot be the reason as to why she’s almost utterly drained, and that it must be from some other source she has yet to pinpoint. Growling lowly in her throat, she pushes herself off the wall and shoves the pessimistic thoughts from her mind as she watches Natsu start going for what appears to be the kill, her dark green eyes becoming bathed in darkness as she feels irritation begin to bubble inside.

She starts out slowly moving across the debris scattered floor, but soon she’s sprinting towards the other Dragon Slayers, almost desperate to stop this battle before it gets too far out of hand. You know how time does its silly little thing where it seems to slow down the closer you get to an incident? Well, Jaelyn wishes that were the case, but, instead, it seems to speed up, and she begins to doubt her ability to get in between her friend and her current Guild Mate before it’s too late. To the cobalt-haired girl, it’s cliche no matter which way this turns out, but she knows that it will go one of two ways - no,  _ one _ way.

With a final lunge, Jaelyn stands between the two and throws her arms out. “Hexagon Barrier!”

A transparent barrier made up of multiple hexagons that surrounds Gajeel, protecting him from the incoming attack from Natsu. Jaelyn takes the blow meant for the Iron Dragon Slayer mere seconds later, her body being thrown back against the magical barrier behind her, the fire from Natsu’s hit burning through her already ruined clothes and melting them to her now third-degree-burned skin. Both Dragon Slayers are wide-eyed and disbelieving, almost horrified, at the teenager’s seemingly idiotic idea, and she can’t exactly blame either of them for that.

“What the hell, Jaelyn?!” Natsu exclaims, hurrying over to his Guild Mate sprawled on the ground. “Why the hell did you do that?!”

Jaelyn shoves the Fire Dragon Slayers’ hands away and sits up, leaning against the Hexagon Barrier. “Because you’re such a fucking idiot sometimes, Natsu. You didn’t realise that attack would have killed Gajeel if it had landed.”

“He’s the bad guy!”

“Exactly: he’s the bad guy. You’re the good guy, which means you don’t kill anyone.”

Gajeel laughs weakly and then coughs, making her look over at her friend with slight concern. “How poetic. Ugh, don’t go givin’ me that look, blueberry. I’ll be fine; go worry about your blonde friend and that cute little blue girl.”

Jaelyn lets out a sharp laugh. “Someone got a little crush, Gaj? That’s adorable. Black Steel Gajeel likes the Script Mage from Fairy Tail.”

“Says the one who likes a stripper and a battery.”

“Touche.”

**••••**

**Yes, I changed it a little! Fucking sue me, bitch!**

**Yes, it's fucking short! So what?!**


	11. 08 • Loke, The Zodiac Lion, Leo

**This is probably going to be the longest chapter in the damn book other than those about the Tower of Heaven - which is coming up next (after a Laxus/Jaelyn chapter that I'm gonna pull out of my ass)!**

**To give you an idea of how long this chapter is, it's 8 pages on Google Docs (size 11, Arial font) and is over 2200 words long...**

** **••••** **

Watching someone she has come to somewhat know start to fade away isn't something Jaelyn particularly wants to witness, but having accompanied Loke - no, _ Leo _\- to the grave of his former Master, Karen, it’s an inevitability at this stage. Whilst she isn't overly fond of other humans, or hybrid creatures, she may well admit that she is partial to Celestial Spirits. They aren’t ones to judge as quickly as mortal creatures, and that’s something she is grateful for.

“I get you want to atone and all, but don’t you think this is a little too far?” Jaelyn asks, no, more like berates the centuries old Spirit. “I deserve to die more than you do. I mean, I’ve killed countless people, on purpose, and you really did nothing but protect Aries. It’s not your fault Karen’s dead, ya know.”

Loke shakes his head. “I understand what you’re saying, but it’s too late to do anything. I deserve for this to happen - I killed her.”

The Dark Dragon Slayer places her hand on the Zodiac Spirit’s shoulder and stares at the gravestone overlooking the most breathtaking waterfall in Fiore. With the stars shining above, and despite her negative feelings towards this man’s decision, she can’t thing of a more appropriate time or place for this Celestial Spirit’s life to end, and that thought makes her stomach clench with unfamiliar emotion.

“Loke!” The somewhat irritating voice of Fairy Tail’s Celestial Mage pierces through the silence. “Loke! Wait… Jaelyn?”

“Lucy,” Loke greets the girl as Jaelyn peers at the blonde with dark eyes and a tight smile.

“Everyone's searching for you. That's Karen's grave, isn't it? The Celestial Wizard Karen. Your owner. Loke, no, your real name is Leo, the Lion!”

“You did well to realize I was actually a Spirit.”

“Well, I am a Celestial Wizard with contracts with many Spirits. I finally figured out the truth behind you. But I should have noticed it sooner, shouldn't I? After an incident where the owner dies, their contract with the Spirit is nullified. Then the Spirit is forced back to the Spirit World until a new owner appears. Karen died, so the contract should be over, and yet you're here in the human world. For some reason, you can't return to the Spirit World, can you?”

“Just as humans can't live in the Spirit World, Spirits can't live forever in the human world. Your Spirit life-energy will be slowly drained from you, and finally you will meet your end. It's already been 3 years.”

“T-Three years? I couldn't fathom even one!”

“I'm at my limit. I don't have any strength left at all.”

“I might be able to save you somehow!” Lucy pleads with the Zodiac Spirit. “Tell me why you can't return! I'll open the gate for you!”

Jaelyn winces at the first lot of words, but stares at the Celestial Mage in cool calculation at her final words.

“I don't need to be saved,” Loke rebukes.

“What are you saying?” the blonde demands. “At this rate you're really going to die!”

“The reason I can't go back is simple: I broke a fundamental rule between owner and Spirit, and, because of it, I have been banished from the Spirit World for all eternity.”

“Banished for eternity?”

“It is my crime. I shall accept even death. As a Spirit, I am a traitor. My owner was Karen, and with my own hands I killed her.”

“You killed Karen, your owner?”

“Spirits who kill their masters cannot return to the Spirit World. I will now start to disappear. In front of her grave, but, that's… It'll be all right!” Loke goes on to tell Lucy about his time as one of Karen’s Celestial Spirits, barely sparing a detail. “That's how I was back then. Aries and I were both bound by contract to Karen.” He tells her how, by keeping his Gate open for months, he ending up causing Karen’s death. “That is the sin I committed. Human life cannot be returned once it is lost. The dead never return, for eternity. The only way to repent is for me to disappear myself.” 

Loke stumbles and Jaelyn catches him before he collapses, slowly lowering him to the ground. All the while, she’s worrying about this man - this _ utter stranger _ \- as his body fluctuates in and out of existence, what appears to be stars or stardust glittering in his wavering form, and she finds that she can’t bring herself to care that she actually cares about someone that isn't her twin, Laxus, Gray, Mystogan, or the two she calls her little brothers.

Lucy is panicking as she kneels beside them. “Loke, hey!”

“I guess it's about time…”

“Time? Time for what?”

“Time for me to disappear,” the dying Zodiac Lion replies.

“What are you talking about?”

Jaelyn grits her teeth as Loke’s hand begins to fade, wishing there was something she could do to stop this man from dying right in front of her. While Loke and herself are not overly close, there are many people in Fairy Tail who adore this man, and would suffer greatly if he were to disappear or die - people like Gray, Erza and Lucy. 

Loke smiles slightly at the feeling of his body dying. “Ever since that day, I've been unable to return to the Spirit World.”

“Y-Your hand…” Lucy stutters out in fear and shock.

“It's the law of the Spirit World. The rules. I can't do anything about it. I was never able to forget about Karen since then. I tried a lot of things to get my mind off it, but I could never forget. I've simply been persisting until this time came. Until the moment I disappear in front of Karen's grave. And, at long last, the time has come. Thank you, Lucy, for letting me meet a truly wonderful Celestial Wizard in the end.”

“Wait! I'll save you! Don't give up!”

“Give my regards to everyone at Fairy Tail.”

“No!”

“Lucy…”

“I won't accept this! If you return to the Spirit World, your life-force will recover really quickly! I'll make it so you can return!”

“You can't do that… The law is the law…”

“But… This is wrong!” She slams her fist against the ground. “You didn't actually kill Karen! It was just an unfortunate accident!”

“Lucy…” 

“Open, Gate of the Lion! Return Loke to the Spirit World! Open! Please! Open!”

“Lucy… That's enough. Please stop…”

“I won't stop! I can't stand by when a friend of mine is disappearing before my eyes!” A golden pillar of light surrounds the three of them, Magic flowing from Lucy’s core, her emotions fuelling it, blinding light shooting from the pillar. “Open, Gate of the Lion!”

“Lucy! Don't use so much magical power all at once!”

“I said I'm going to save you, no matter what! I can force open the gate to the Spirit World… Watch me!”

Jaelyn grins and latches onto both Loke and Lucy, pouring Magic from her deep reservoir into the blonde, helping her with the spell. The Celestial Spirit stares at the girl with disbelief, unable to understand why, after everything she’s done and everyone she’s either hurt or killed, she’s deciding that either somehow managing to save his life or fading along with him is something she’s willing to do. To the surprise of the Dragon Slayer, the Celestial Mage links their hands together and cries out as she continues her attempts to force Loke’s Gate open.

“Stop it!” Loke pleads. “Both of you!”

“Open, Gate of the Lion! Open!”

“It won't open! Spirits who let their contracted owner die can't go back to the Spirit World! Please, stop! You're starting to assimilate with me! At this rate you'll disappear when I do!”

“You won't die!” Jaelyn snarls at the Spirit.

“I won't let you die…” Lucy affirms. “What's the point of magic to begin with if I can't use it protect my friends?”

“Stop it!” Loke says desperately. “Don't make my crime any worse than it already is!”

“What crime?! If that's the rule of the Spirit World, then I'll change it!”

Suddenly, Lucy’s Magic stops and the three of them are thrown apart, Jaelyn still having hold of Lucy’s hand and preventing her from going flying over the edge and into the swirling water below. As well as having hold of her, the nineteen-year-old’s hold on the Zodiac Spirit allows her to pull the three of them back together again as they all stare up at the heavens in utter disbelief and wonder. The stars are swirling and spinning, making Jaelyn’s stomach churn uncomfortably as she catches sight of Lucy hugging Loke in her peripheral vision.

To make matters worse, the waterfall flies up into the night sky, spinning and rushing, a spray lightly dousing the three huddled in front of Karen’s grave. It twists and warps for a moment before a bright light appears, followed by a giant man with a ridiculously sized moustache and flowing cape appearing in the sky, time around them freezing with his arrival.

“What's that?” Lucy exclaims.

“It can't be…” Loke’s in shock. “That's the Spirit King. Why are you here?” 

“The King? You mean the ruler of the Spirits?”

“Old friend,” the giant being greets in a deep voice that makes Jaelyn shiver. “It is forbidden for we who have contracted with humans to kill the one who possesses the key. It matters not if it was direct or indirect. Leo the Lion, you are no longer allowed to return to the Spirit World.”

Lucy shoves herself to her feet and glares up at the Celestial Spirit King. “Hey, that's going too far!”

Loke stares at the blonde in horror. “Don't, Lucy!”

Jaelyn shakes her head and stands beside Lucy. “She’s right! This is in no fucking way fair!”

The being stares down at them. “Old friend… Human girls… That law shall not be changed.”

“For three years,” Lucy growls. “Loke's been suffering for three years! For his friend! For Aries! What else could he do?”

“I too am pained by my old friend's wish…”

“What are you talking about? He's not your "old" friend! He's your friend, right now, before your eyes! Listen to me, Stache Face!”

“Stache Face?”

“Uh, Lucy…” Loke trails off, reaching for the girl.

“This was an unfortunate accident,” Lucy snaps at the King. “Loke didn't do anything wrong! I won't accept anything but his complete innocence! I won't accept it!”

Jaelyn steps up beside Lucy and takes her hand again, giving the younger of the two support. White light shines from the two girls, startling the eldest for a second, but she soon grins back at Loke.

“Enough, Lucy, Jaelyn. I don't want anybody to forgive me,” Loke says. “I want to repent for my sins! I just want to disappear!”

“You can't! You disappearing isn't going to bring Karen back! All it will do is create more sadness! It's not a crime! Caring about your friends is not a crime!” Celestial Spirits surround Lucy; all of her Spirits.

Jaelyn catches Loke’s thoughts. _ ‘This many spirits… All at once… Even Karen couldn't do this…’ _

“If you disappear, then Aries, myself, and everyone else here will be filled with sadness! You won't be repenting for your sins at all that way!” She collapses sideways into Jaelyn, arms wrapping around the smaller girl.

“Lucy!”

“All my friends came forward to show that they feel the same way.”

“Your friends?”

Lucy glares up at the King. “If you're a Spirit too, then you should know how Loke and Aries felt!”

“Lucy, why are you forcing yourself like this? You want to follow in Karen's footsteps?”

Jaelyn cackles and lowers Lucy to the ground before putting her hands on her hips and giving the King a look. “Come on, Stache Face. Take a page from this book.”

“If my old friend goes so far as to say that, perhaps it is the law that is in error,” the King concedes. “Leo, who committed the crime for his brethren Aries, and you, old friends, who tried to save that Leo, considering the beauty of that bond, I will make an exception for this incident. Leo, I give thee warrant to return to the Spirit World.”

“You ain't so bad, Stache Face,” Lucy says with a grin, giving him a thumbs-up.

The Celestial Spirit King grins and then starts fading into starlight. “You are pardoned. Be grateful to the star's guidance.”

“Wait, please I…” Loke stares up at the giant star that is the King.

“If you still wish to repent for your sins, I order you to aid your friend and live on. I believe her to be a friend of such worth. You should protect her with your life.”

The Celestial Spirit King’s star flies back into the sky and the water returns to where it was before, time starting once again, Loke’s glasses clattering to the ground behind them. Jaelyn sighs in relief and falls back onto the ground, groaning in irritation as a rather pointing rock sticks into her lower back. The Lion Spirit laughs lightly at her discomfort and then looks over to Lucy as the Celestial Mage stands.

“You heard the man,” Jaelyn says, mimicking the blonde.

“Hey, Lucy, Jaelyn,” Loke says, standing and facing the two, holding his hand out.

Lucy steps forward and clasps her hand with his. “Yeah?”

“I just wanted to say thank you, to both of you.” He fades into starlight and returns to the Celestial World, leaving his golden Zodiac Key in Lucy’s hand.


	12. 09 • It’s Terrifying and Electrifying

Even singing a song under her breath and doing her weekly washing, the machine rumbling through its second load, with her enhanced Dragon Slayer hearing, it would be near impossible to miss the random lightning strike outside her front door. Along with that, the smell of a stormy atmosphere, and something that is uniquely the Lightning Mage, is something like an alert to her enhanced sense of smell; letting her know who exactly is at her door.

“Come on in, sparky,” Jaelyn calls, continuing to hang her washing out. “I’m just finishing up out here and then I can decide whether or not I want to waste my time with you today.”

“You’re inviting today,” comes Laxus’ rumbling reply from her kitchen at the other end of the house. The opening and closing of her fridge followed by the scrape of a chair against the floor tells her all she needs to know. “What’s got you in such a good mood, blue?”

“No reason in particular. Just that I’m going to be seeing my twin again soon.”

“How the hell is that gonna work? You’re here and he’s out the middle of the goddamn ocean. Sounds like some pathetic dream to me.”

“You’re in a shit ass mood. What crawled up your pants and died?” She walks into her open-plan kitchen, dining and living room area, and leans against the door frame, peering through the darkness at the older Mage. He looks borderline murderous and somewhat psychotic, and only something dark and destructive can come of it. “You look like someone destroyed something you liked, or someone completely fucked you over. What the fuck is your problem, Laxus?”

“You want to know what my problem is, Jaelyn?” He all but slams the glass bottle onto the table and surges to his feet, his signature jacket falling to the ground as he stalks over to her and glares down at her, sending an uncomfortable sensation down her back and making her stomach - as well as her emotions - churn. “It’s everyone in the fucking Guild. They’re all weak and pathetic, and the only way to be anything at all is to be strong! They’re useless, and have no place in the Guild!”

Jaelyn’s face becomes shadowed and her body tenses, muscles contracting and releasing underneath her scarred skin as she fights to keep her murderous and malicious urges at bay. There’s no need for her to draw attention to herself in this instance, lest she face the wrath of those who see fit to command her through brute force and their own maliciousness, and this is one of the few people she’s never wanted to hurt despite how much hell they’ve put her through over the years - whether it be accidental or not.

“You really think that we’re weak and pathetic and useless?” Jaelyn muses in a deadly calm voice. “That we have no place in Fairy Tail?”

Laxus flinches at her tone. “Blue, listen, I don’t mean you.”

“Don’t get me wrong, I know that I have no place in that Guild, but everyone else does. They made it their home because they had no other place to call such a place, and, to be honest, I can’t really blame their stupid asses. I would have done the same had I of come here first, but I didn’t have that luxury.” She looks up at him with empty eyes. “I can’t blame you either, can I? Look at who your bastard father is… but then I look at your grandfather and have to wonder where he went wrong in raising your father… At least you’re nothing like that bastard, Laxus. I hope you can see that.”

“What are you getting at, blue?” He peers down at her. “You’re not making any sense.”

“Yeah, I know I’m not, but you understand what I’m saying.” She smiles sadly. “I know a heinous, murderous, malicious and tumultuous person when I see them, and not because of my past, but because I see one every time I look in the mirror. You’re nothing like that, and I’m actually glad that a few of the people I actually like aren’t as fucked up as I am.”

“Oh? You like me now?”

A low growl is all the warning Jaelyn gets before the burly blond surges forward, hands clamping around her wrists and pinning her to the wall, darkened grey eyes staring down at her with a strange emotion in them. The response Laxus gets is a rumbling, warning growl from the lithe blue haired girl as she glares up at him with black eclipsing the dark green of her eyes, her body preparing to fight off the man who dares to hold her down. Darkness slinks along her light skin, clashing with the lightning sparking along his skin, and making a myriad of explosions and shapes, small amounts of smoke wafting off their skin.

It feels as though the usually dormant dragons, or their instincts rather, within the two take command, the bodies of the Slayers no longer obeying the commands of their owners. Laxus practically devours Jaelyn with a ferocious and burning and unforgiving kiss, his hands tightening their hold as he manoeuvres his hold so both her wrists are encased in one of his large hands whilst the other moves down to her lower back, pulling her towards him. Jaelyn lets out a savage snarl at the man’s attempt of dominance over her, but her body betrays her and allows itself to be held against his looming form - but that’s only for a few, brief moments before her mind rebels, slamming her psyche with memories.

The skin-on-skin contact of Laxus’ hand on her wrists is enough for Jaelyn’s Magic to flare and force the torturous memories into the man’s mind. His body locks up against hers and he finds himself unable to move, except to rip his lips from hers and stare, startled and horrified, down into her dark eyes. The only thing the young girl can do is shield her twin brother from the oncoming horror by throwing up yet another barrier between her memories and his; between her feelings and emotions and his.

Laxus feels every single drop of blood that has left Jaelyn’s body over her short life as if it has left his instead. He feels every single lash brought down without mercy and burn that scorched her skin; every single bone break and shatter under unforgiving blows. He hears the sadistic laughter of the soldiers at the Tower of Heaven as they break her apart piece by piece and leave her in infinite shards on the bloodied floor of a cell. He feels their rough, filthy and bruising hands hold her still or pin her down as they torture her and break her spirit. He feels her terror and unadulterated agony, and hears her cries and pleas for them to leave her alone; for someone to come and save her from this hell.

In this moment of indescribable, endless pain and torture, Laxus finds himself admiring Jaelyn for being as strong as she is today after having to go through this hell as a mere child. However, this is nowhere near the worst of it - or the end. 

Laxus’ psyche is battered and shredded by Jaelyn’s memories of her time with Grimoire Heart and Tartaros within the Balam Alliance, and he finds out that they’re far worse than those from the Tower of Heaven. It feels as though everywhere he looks there’s a cobalt-haired girl screaming in pain, fighting against her captors and torturers, and those who were sick enough to take her, begging and pleading and screaming for them to let her go; for someone to come and save her from this hell she’s forced to live with. Somewhere amidst the pain, their minds merge and there’s no longer any distinction between the two Slayers.

Everything is coated in blood, and their skin is layered in innumerable scars and lacerations and burns in a plethora of shapes and sizes, and even colours. There’s a dull, endless ache in their bones as they’re forced to continue on as if they weren’t ripped apart the night before and taken to the brink of death countless times, life-threatening injuries uncared for until they do something to please the one who commands them. Even then there was always someone higher up who wanted to break them apart so there was no chance of ever returning to their former selves - if that version of them ever existed in the first place. There’s the taste of iron and salt in their mouths; their tongues and throats coated in the liquid which gives off such vile tastes.

There’s an unforgiving, burning and freezing, molten liquid pain that follows, seeming to encase the entirety of their being, their body arching and thrashing to the best of its ability whilst being tied down against a barely padded chair. Their strength has been erased by whatever acidic substance was ejected into their body, leaving them defenceless and unable to get free, and their Magic has been nullified by either something in the walls or the acidic substance to prevent any casualties due to explosions of Magic from their puppet and test subject. The reason for why they’re the test subject for such vile people and their methods is beyond the comprehension of their victim, even to this day.

A person can become numb to certain painful experiences if they’re inflicted innumerable times in a row, but not when they’re sporadically and randomly stretched out over long periods of time. The simple anxiety and knowledge of oncoming torture is enough to drive some people to the brink of insanity and then over the edge into an oblivion that is damn near impossible to get free of. Physical torture is not the worst kind of torture available, emotional and psychological are, and that’s because the physical wounds heal while the mental and emotional ones remain, usually unable to be healed beyond a certain extent. By having all kinds of torture employed on her, she - no, _ they _\- went over that edge and never returned.

They’re killing people, slaughtering them without hesitation no matter their guilt or innocence. They’re torturing them for the mere fun of inflicting the same pain upon others that is inflicted upon themselves every other day for the enjoyment of the Dark Guilds in the Balam Alliance. There’s blood and flayed skin and even fingers and toes and even full-on limbs everywhere they turn, and there’s a malicious, sadistic, murderous and downright insanely twisted grin on their face, their eyes completely eclipsed in black and accompanied by the bright sheen of insanity.

Letting out a mangled scream, a powerful burst of Magic flies from Jaelyn where she remains pinned against the wall, sending Laxus flying across the open-plan area and into the wall on the other side of the apartment. She falls to her hands and knees, quivering and panting and crying, Magic coursing through her body and over her skin. Her fingers curl in towards her palms, strangely lengthened nails carving deep grooves into the dark hardwood floor, and allowing her to make a small note regarding her evident transformation into a dragon.

“What the hell was that?” Laxus groans, sitting upright and looking through the darkness to where Jaelyn is. “What - Jaelyn!” He moves across the room as fast as his shaking legs will allow, kneeling beside the younger girl. “Hey, talk to me. Jaelyn!”

“I’m sorry… I’m sorry… I’m sorry… I’m sorry…”

“Quit apologising, blue! It was an accident.”

“I’m sorry…”

“Yeah, it was fucking terrifying, but you’re not there anymore. You’re here, with me.”

“I’m sorry…”

“Jesus, blue… This was my fault. I should’ve just kept my damn mouth shut for a change.”

Jaelyn gathers herself as best she can and shakes her head as she straightens, but still refuses to meet his eyes. “It wasn’t you that made that happen, and it wasn’t me either. The dragon soul inside that lacrima inside your head made that happen, as well as the dragon instincts and traits you’ve gained from it. It’s similar for me, but I don’t have a dragon soul inside me - instead I was practically raised by a dragon for eight or nine years.”

Laxus gently puts his fingers under her chin and tilts her head back, making her meet his eyes. “Look, we’re both to blame, and so is our damned dragon shit. Don’t worry about it, alright? I’m alright, and you’re safe from those fucking bastards now. I’m here.”

“I break down and force you to relive my life and you turn into some cheesy bastard. Maybe I should do that more often.”

“Don’t get your damned hopes up.”

**••••**

**Hey, superwolves!**

**So, uh, I guess that I should really apologise for anything that may have triggered anyone as this chapter focused quite a lot on the horrific aspects of Jaelyn’s past… I am so very sorry for making anyone triggered or anything of the sort. To tell the truth, this chapter was pretty damn hard to write…**

**I don’t plan on giving much more detail into her past because I think it’d be too much for some people to handle reading - especially for those who may have been through similar things, and for those who can visualise what they’re reading while they’re reading it (like I can). **

**There may be a few more instances in which I may reference her past, but I will try not to go into that much detail. Hopefully this chapter and one of the later chapters that I’ve already written will be as far as I go into detail. That is, until I get up to writing about the Tartaros Arc - which is going to be horrific on its own without my help (I don’t know much about it because I’m not quite up to it yet).**

**\- Chey xo -**


	13. 10 • The Tower of Heaven

It’s not what she expected it to be, but it’s not particularly bad either. Akane Resort is practically a paradise, or as close to one Jaelyn can get while she has Natsu and Gray around, as well as Lucy and Happy. Not to mention, Juvia has been hanging around a lot lately, but that isn't exactly in Jaelyn’s bad column.

“I heard that Phantom was disbanded,” Gray says.

“Yes,” the Rain Woman tells the Ice Make Mage. “Juvia is now a Free Wizard.”

“So, I take it you want to join Fairy Tail, then?”

“Yes, Juvia does! But after all that…”

“Well, I don't mind, but I'm not sure what the master would say.”

“Juvia will do anything!”

“I wouldn't say that so lightly if I were you.”

Jaelyn smiles at the pair and walks over to one of the card tables. She slides onto a seat beside Erza and watches as the Requip Mage kicks the asses of everyone else who’s playing alongside her. It’s quite the sight, if the Slayer may say so herself, and she’s not sure that she’d miss it for anything - except what’s yet to come on this day.

Erza presents her cards with a flourish. “A straight!”

Jaelyn smiles. “Awesome, Erza!”

“I'm really on a roll today.”

“Dealer change,” someone says.

“I have a feeling that I won't lose no matter who I'm up against.”

“Then why don't we play a special game?” a familiar voice says, making Jaelyn look up, an instant grin growing on her face. “Let's play a game where your life's on the line, big sister Erza.”

“Sho? Is that you?”

Many people get turned into cards and darkness suddenly surrounds everyone in the casino, making Jaelyn cackle. She’s missed complete and utter darkness, and she has to admit that it feels a little strange to be immersed in such a pure substance once again. So caught up in everything, she completely misses the small conversation between Sho and Erza, but she knows that it couldn’t have been too interesting if it didn’t remove her from her own little world.

“Feelin' chip an' dipper?” Milliana calls in her child-like voice.

“Milliana…” Erza’s in complete shock. “You can use Magic too?”

“How's it been, Erzy-Werzy?”

“Let Lucy go! She's my friend!”

“Friend? We were your friends too once…” Sho gives Erza a dark look. “Isn't that right, Sister?”

Lucy struggles in her bindings. “You guys were friends?”

“We were, remember? That is, until you betrayed us, Sister. At least Jaelyn never did such a thing to us… She stayed with us longer than you did.”

“Don't abuse Erza so much, Sho,” Milliana pouts.

“A man who's a dandy should keep his emotions in check,” Wally says with a grin. “Long time no see! You grew a pretty hot body there.”

“Are you Wally?” Erza asks.

“I suppose it's not surprising you wouldn't recognise me. Back then, when I was called "Mad Dog Wally," I was a lot more rough around the edges.”

“You also use Magic?”

“You shouldn't be surprised,” Simon says, startling the Fairy Tail Mage. “Once you get the hang of it, anyone can use magic. Isn't that right, Erza?”

“Simon,” Jaelyn exclaims, hugging the taller male.

“Erza, Jaelyn, who are these people?” Lucy demands. “And why are they calling you their sisters?”

“We’re not actually their sisters,” Erza explains with a soft smile. “We were all together in the past.”

“Together? But haven't you both been in Fairy Tail since you were really young?”

“It was before that.” The redhead turns to her childhood friends, her gaze lingering on Jaelyn. “Why are you here?”

“Why?” Sho replies with shock. “To take you back.”

Jaelyn hums and travels through the darkness, stabbing a tranquilliser shot into Erza’s shoulder before Milliana wraps the Requip Mage in her rope. Despite both things, she still attempts to fight against the five of them; to get away from the ones she once called her friends and family. That makes Jaelyn roll her eyes and shake her head, but the grin soon returns to her face when Sho tells Erza just where they’re heading: back to the completed Tower of Heaven.

Moving on auto-pilot, the cobalt-haired Fernandes twin follows the children she was enslaved with to the boat whilst her mind is preoccupied with the current memories of what her brother is witnessing at the Tower of Heaven:

“Lord Jellal, I'm here to report that they've captured Erza and are heading here now. Your sister, Lady Jaelyn, is also accompanying them,” one of the former children informs, a slight stutter of fear in their voice until their next lot of words. “However… Why have you let that traitor live until now? With your magical power, you should have been able to dispose of her easily.”

“Well, that wouldn't do. The world would be too boring a place,” her twin dismisses. “However, now that the Tower of Heaven is complete, allowing her to live would cause issues. The time has come. You will become a living sacrifice to our aspiration, Erza Scarlet.” He looks into a reflective surface and smirks. “You’re finally coming back home, Jaelyn. It’s been too long, little sister.”

Jaelyn is suddenly brought back into her current time, her stomach rebelling against her as the boat rocks on the open ocean and waves clash against the boat. Sho hands her a bucket only seconds before her stomach empties itself, and then she manages to send him a weak but thankful smile before another lot comes up and she’s left cradling the bucket as Milliana’s hand runs lightly over her back, careful not to touch the Slayer any more than that.

“Where am I?” Erza asks a few minutes later.

“Inside a ship, Sister,” Sho replies.

“A ship?”

“Yes. Inside a ship heading toward the Tower of Heaven.”

“Oh… So that's it. Will you untie me? I don't plan to resist.”

“I can't do that. Because you're a traitor, Sister. It's pointless. Milliana's tubes have the power of sealing Magic. You can't do anything about them on your own. No matter how powerful you are, Sister.

“I-I know… Then would you at least allow me to requip into armour? I'm afraid to return to that tower… Unless I'm wearing armour the fear…”

“But you look good in that dress, Sister. I didn't want to do this…”

“Sho…” 

“I missed you! Really! Sister! Why did you betray Jellal?!”

“Jellal…”

Sho tugs on Jaelyn’s sleeve as the Tower comes into sight. “Sis, over here, hurry!”

“Sho, don't be so loud,” Wally berates.

Milliana glares at the block man. “You're even louder, Wally!”

“Sorry, Milliana.”

Blocking out the bickering of the children she was enslaved with, Jaelyn is thrown back into her memories of the Tower of Heaven alongside Jellal and Erza as little children, sneaking around despite the punishment for doing so. It’s one of the few happy memories she has before her twin was taken over by Zeref’s spirit - or what they used to assume was Zeref’s spirit - and it’s one that she’s cherished for almost a decade.

_ “Erza, if we don't hurry, they'll find us,” Jellal berates. _

_ “Right,” Erza says. “But, if they find out I know…” _

_ Jaelyn shivers. “What they do to the kids that are found out…” _

_ Her twin grins. “Don't worry, there's nothing to be afraid of.” _

_ “J-Jellal!” _

_ “We're going to get our freedom. Our future, and our aspirations.” _


	14. 11 • The Terrible Past

“Even if I can see it in your memories, I need to be there to discuss and vote on the Etherion Blast with you and Ultear,” Jaelyn tells her twin, peering at him over her shoulder. “We’re all Wizard Saints and part of the Council after all, and every vote counts.”

“A Thought Projection would be best, little sister,” Jellal agrees, staring down at his playing board with a smile. “Everything is going according to plan, and you being there as well as here will certainly help matters.”

Briefly closing her eyes, Jaelyn creates a Thought Projection of herself in the Council Room standing between Siegrain and Ultear, and her tired, dark green eyes are instantly drawn to the lacrima in the centre of the circle, as well as the images of the Tower of Heaven blown up in its centre. She hums under her breath and crosses her arms over her chest, studying the images with a furrowed brow and giving off the impression that she is unimpressed by both the existence of this tower as well as her twins’ actions.

“Impossible!” one of the Council members snarls. “The R-System, that a black-magic cult plotted to construct around ten years ago… I thought we had destroyed the seven towers ourselves…”

“There was an eighth tower,” another says. “In the Ka Elm Sea.”

“Looking at it… Could it be complete?” yet another asks. “The investigation team went missing right after they sent these pictures.”

“They're finishing it, I guess…” another Council member says. “Why the R-system now?”

“The Tower of Heaven,” Siegrain informs.

“Not the R-system,” Jaelyn agrees. “The Tower of Heaven.”

“Who cares what we call it? That's forbidden magic! If even its existence were known, it would cause a huge uproar!” the Council member says. “We must send the military immediately and suppress them!”

“But we're up against… Who?” another Council member asks.

“The incident that occurred on Akane beach last night… According to reports from witness vacationers there, it seems the people occupying the R-system now are not that magical cult.”

“So, wait! Who in the world is it?”

“It sounds like that person is going by the name of Jellal…” 

“Jellal? Your triplet brother, right, Siegrain and Jaelyn?” Yagima asks.

“Yes, I am aware of that,” Siegrain assures the Council.

“It’s concerning to say the least,” Jaelyn agrees, staring at the lacrima in the middle of the circle.

Hearing the name of this R-System - the Tower of Heaven - come from her twins’ lips, _in his voice _, catches Jaelyn off-guard and pulls her back into her original body, leaving her Thought Projection to act alongside that of Jellal’s. Her mind spins and memories begin to rise from the dark and treacherous depths of her tormented and twisted mind, leading her into the past she’d rather forget.

_ “You think you can escape so easily, you little brats?” one of the guards cackles. “At a time when we need to finish the R-System quickly! Hold up… At this rate we'd get way behind schedule.” _

_ “I was going to send you all to that room, but…” the other guard trails off with a sadistic smile. “Who is the one who came up with the escape plan? I'll only take that one away.” _

_ “Aren't we such nice guys? Spit it out! Who is the mastermind?” _

_ Jellal stands on shaking legs, and Jaelyn manages the same behind him. “Us… We’re the ones! Us… We made the plan, and we told them what to do!” _

_ “Of course,” the first guard mocks. “It wasn't you, I see.” _

_ “It was that girl,” the second one decrees. “Take her away!” _

_ “No! It was us!” Jellal pleads. _

_ “We planned it!” Jaelyn cries. _

_ Jellal throws himself at the guards in an attempt to save Erza from being taken. Jaelyn screeches and bites one of the guards’ exposed skin, earning a bruising blow to the side of her head, her frail body skittering over the rock and dirt floor before she gets back onto her feet and throws herself at the man again. This time, she’s caught in the hold of one of the guards, unable to get free, and her twin is in a similar predicament. _

_ “It's not Erza!” Jellal yells. “Let Erza go!” _

_ “I'll be okay,” Erza assures the older male with a smile. “I'm fine.” _

_ Jaelyn thrashes in the tight grip of a guard. “Erza!” _

_ “It'll be just like you said, Jellal… I'm not scared at all.” _

_ “Erza…” Jellal is in shock at her words. “Erza!” _

_ “You take that brat,” the guard holding Jaelyn barks before leering down at his prey. “I’m going to take this one and teach her a lesson on how to properly treat those who take care of you.” _

_ Jaelyn screams as she’s carted away from her twin, Jellal chasing after her with wide eyes, but only to be stopped by the door of the cell they’re kept in slamming shut in his face. She thrashes and twists and turns in the man’s hold, screaming and crying and begging, but it does no good - even clawing at any exposed flesh she can find has little effect. In fact, it only angers him further, and she gets thrown into a dark room, her small body colliding with the concrete wall. _

_ “You little bitch,” he snarls, the sound of his belt buckle coming undone making her freeze. “I was going to go easy on you, but you’ve really pissed me off now!” She cries out as the leather strip lands on her already multi-coloured skin and leaves a rapidly reddening and raised welt behind, as well as stinging pain. “You’re going to pay for this, you little wench!” _

Ripped from her memories just before the second lash, Jaelyn turns her attention to the door as one of her and Jellal’s subordinates rushes in, eyes wide and frantic. Swallowing, the younger Fernandes feigns interest in the gameboard in front of her elder brother, cataloguing and strategising despite not particularly wanting to harm a handful of the people on this island - Gray, Sho, Millianna, Simon and Wally namely.

The subordinate catches his breath. “Erza has escaped!”

Jaelyn hums and looks at her twin. “How intriguing, indeed.”

“I'm looking forward to see who wins: Erza or myself, or should I say us, little sister,” Jellal muses. “Life and death… A game of heaven which connects the past and the future.”

Her attention drawn back to the council meeting, Jaelyn mindlessly plays with one of the game pieces as her vision blurs until she’s staring at the lacrima once again and listening to the ramblings of the old men. She doesn’t care much for such trifle things, but she knows that she has to at least _act_ as though she is interested whilst she is in the presence of the Council.

“We have to do something…” a Council member declares.

An older man shakes his head. “First, gather information!”

“We must dispatch the entire military,” someone yells.

“You bleeding-heart doves…” Siegrain sighs.

“What do you mean?” a Saint asks.

Yagima glares at Siegrain. “Sieg, you bastard!”

“Sending the military? What else could I call someone with that weak a response?” her twin’s Thought Projection berates. “This is dangerous… Far too dangerous!”

“What are you trying to say?”

“You people don't understand,” Jaelyn snarks. “There is only one way to destroy the Tower of Heaven now.”

“Otherwise we are all doomed for sure,” Siegrain confirms. “Etherion!”

“What did you say?! The cross-dimensional destruction magic?! Are you mad?!” another of the Saints rants. “You've seen its predicted destructive power, right? It has the power to destroy an entire country! Etherion is our ultimate weapon! It's even more dangerous magic than the R-system!”

“However… But with the satellite square, we could target this entire area. And the only thing that could destroy such a large building is Etherion!”

“I concur,” Ultear says.

“Ultear, you too? one of the Council members asks.

“There are 9 of us in total,” a Council member declares. “Only three more are needed.”

“If three more people agree then we fire Etherion!”

Jaelyn shakes her head. “There's no time!”

Siegrain sharply nods his head. “We can't let him use the R-system!”

“That will end with your triplet brother Jellal losing his life, you know,” Yagima reminds Siegrain and Jaelyn.

“Of course. That's just how terrible a system it is.”

In the back of her mind, she can hear a faint conversation between Jellal and their subordinate:

_ “Lord Jellal, why are you inviting the intruders inside?” the subordinate demands. _

_ “I told you, remember? This is a game. They have cleared a stage. That is all,” Jellal informs. “This makes things more interesting. But if we don't hurry with the ceremony…” _

_ “It’s going to be too late,” Jaelyn agrees before returning her attention to the Council meeting. _

“I-I concur!” a Council member declares.

“Elder Leiji!” another Council member says.

“We have no choice. Only two more.”

“There is no time,” Siegrain barks, Jaelyn catching his afterthoughts. _ ‘They can't stop me. Not those fools on the Council, that's for sure.’ _

_ ‘Relax, big brother,’ _ Jaelyn berates. _ ‘Everything will go according to plan.’ _

With the door leading to her past on this island still wide open inside her mind, despite her best attempts, Jaelyn is sucked back into the aftermath of her and Erza having been taken by the guards, and it’s less than pretty. It’s something she wishes she had not had to force Jellal into being present for, or even knowing about at all, but there is nothing she can do to change that past.

_ Jaelyn faintly hears the door of a cell being opened before she’s thrown into the cell it belongs to, her body limp and boneless like a rag doll. Landing on the hard ground barely registers due to the agony her body is currently in, but what does register is her twin looming above her, terror and pain in his eyes, many of the markings on her body mirrored on his despite her attempts to shield him from her torture. _

_ “Jaelyn, hey, you’re alright now,” Jellal assures his little sister, lifting her up off the floor as best he can and carrying her over to their “beds,” two layered to make it more comfortable. “You’re safe here with me.” _

_ “Where’s Erza?” Jaelyn asks, pain filling her voice as she shifts on the hard ground. “Is she back yet?” _

_ “No, no yet, but she will be soon.” _

_ “Jellal, what are you planning?” _

_ “I’m going to go rescue her!” _

_ He managed to get to Erza alright, but everything went relatively downhill after that. That’s when they took Jellal and Ultear was able to get inside his head and make him believe he was possessed by the spirit of Zeref, and when he met Zero, leader of the Oracion Seis. _


	15. 12 • Heaven’s Game

_ Not long after Jellal saved Erza and became possessed by “Zeref,” the “Black Wizard’s” influence has begun to seep into Jaelyn, twisting her mind into something like that of her twins’. Standing overlooking the ocean, the two Fernandes twins and Erza are having quite the dilemma, and neither are prepared to back down from their viewpoints despite how much they may care for the other. _

_ “Jellal, what are you talking about?” Erza exclaims. “Let's escape from this island together!” _

_ “Erza, there is no freedom in this world. I realised that,” Jellal informs. “It is not transient freedom that we require. It's true freedom. Zeref's world! I can understand their feelings a bit now. They were trying to resurrect this Zeref person, see, but these pitiful believers couldn't even sense Zeref's presence. Isn't that right? This tower is ours.” He takes Jaelyn’s hand and they both grin. “We will complete it. We will resurrect Zeref.” _

_ “Stop it, Jellal!” She turns to his sister. “Jaelyn, please! Stop this!” _

_ Jaelyn cocks her head to the side and gives her a strange look. “Stop?” _

_ “Don't you hate them, Erza?” Jellal wonders aloud. _

_ “I hate them, but this is…” the red-headed girl trails off, unable to find the words. _

_ “That's no good! You won't be able to sense Zeref like that!” _

_ “Stop! Jellal!” _

_ “Erza, let's complete the R-System - I mean, the Tower of Heaven, together! Then we can resurrect Zeref.” _

_ “Stop saying such crazy things! We're going to get off this island!” _

_ “Fine. If you want to go so badly, then you can leave this island on your own.” _

_ “On my own?” _

_ “The rest of them are all ours,” Jaelyn informs with a grin. “Completing this tower will take a lot of work, after all. You don't have to worry. We’re not like them.” _

_ “We'll give everyone clothes, and food, and rest,” Jellal continues. “Fear and oppression does give rise to hatred, but the work efficiency is far too poor.” _

_ “What are you saying?” Erza exclaims. “Everyone is already on the ships, waiting for us! No one is planning on coming back here and working!” _

_ “That's because they never explained to us the meaning behind the work. I will show them the meaning. They will work for the glory of the great Wizard Zeref!” _

_ “But who would choose to continue sacrificing themselves?” _

_ “Sacrifice? That's not what we need now. Zeref taught me, you see.” _

_ “Jellal, please, open your eyes!” _

_ “My eyes are already open. I have no more need for you.” Using his newfound Magic, he sends her flying down to the lower level. “However I will allow you to live. Since you eliminated all those who stood in my way for me. You will leave this island and have your fill of that transient freedom.” _

_ “Jellal…” _

_ “But you will never speak of this to anyone. If the government finds out about this Tower of Heaven, it will be quite troublesome. If you try to tell someone, I will have to destroy this tower and everyone in it. You are also forbidden to come near here. If you set even one foot… Yes, I think that'll do… First, I will make Sho disappear.” _

_ Erza is beyond horrified. “Jellal…” _

_ “That will be your freedom!” Jellal barks down at his friend. _

_ Jaelyn stares down at the younger girl. “Live knowing that your friends' lives hang on your shoulders, Erza!” _

“We have no other option than firing Etherion from the Satellite Square!” a Council member informs, ripping Jaelyn from her memories. “The R-System is a Forbidden Magic that must be erased from the annals of history.”

“You do understand what this means, right everyone?” another asks, still trying to delay the inevitable. “An attack from Etherion will return everything to nothingness. Even if there are citizens there!”

“And Jellal, your younger brother, will disappear as well, you know!” Yagima continues. “Are you sure about that? 

“I've come to terms with that,” Siegrain assures the other Wizard Saint. “All of us came this far due to the sacrifices of others.”

Jaelyn nods in agreement with her twins’ Thought Projection. “That is the Magic World of today.”

“It will go down in history that our country committed the crime of attacking the land of Ka Elm without provocation,” Elder Leiji declares. “That means we'll have to sacrifice ourselves as well.”

“The dead cannot return to life,” Elder Belno grumbles. “When it comes time to teach the children how precious life is, that is what we must say! We must put an end to this.”

“I concur with firing Etherion,” another member says.

“Only one more…” yet another sighs.

“Only one more, yes?” a final Saint asks.

_ ‘One more and then it is game over,’ _ Siegrain and Jaelyn say, unaware of the other’s thought.

Turning her attention back to her current situation at the Tower of Heaven, Jaelyn is irritated to find that the subordinate of herself and Jellal is still in the room and shows no signs of leaving any time soon. Rolling her eyes, she walks over to Jellal and stares down at the game board, noting that several pieces have either been removed, moved or knocked over.

“Sho and Simon have turned against us,” Jellal muses, playing with pieces on the board. “Wally and Millianna have fallen to Salamander. This is how it should be. There is nothing more boring than a one-sided game.”

“Lord Jellal, let us hurry and capture Erza to begin the ceremony,” the subordinate pleads. “This is no longer the time to be playing around.”

Jaelyn turns and bares her sharpened canines at the man. “ Be silent! You have no right to order my brother or myself around!”

Jellal chuckles at the small moment before picking up a lacrima and turning it in his hands, drawing Jaelyn’s gaze from the subordinate to the pale lump in her twins’ lithe hands. He places it on the table and places one hand atop it before looking at his younger sister, making her grin and follow his motions, instantly feeling their Magic swell and channel into the currently dead lacrima, allowing them to do what needs to be done in this instance.

“We are Jellal and Jaelyn,” her twin says, voice being amplified through a lacrima. “The rulers of this tower. Both of our pieces are in place. Isn't it about time to get things started? Heaven's Game! The rules are simple. I wish to use Erza as the living sacrifice to hold the ceremony to resurrect Zeref.”

“In other words, if the door to heaven opens, victory is ours,” Jaelyn informs with a grin. “If you can prevent us from doing that, then you win. However, that alone would not be any fun. So we have assembled three warriors. If you cannot overcome them, then you will not reach us. In other words it is a 3 vs. 8 battle royal.”

“Oh, and one final thing. It is possible that the Magic Council will attack this place from the Satellite Square. With the ultimate magic that returns everything to nothingness, Etherion! But when Etherion is fired, everything will be wiped out. The game will be over, with no players left.”


	16. 13 • Sieg, Jae and the Decision

Gritting her teeth, the cobalt-haired Dark Dragon Slayer has to almost literally bite her tongue in order to stop herself from snapping at the bickering Wizard Saints around her. They’re not all in line with the Etherion Blast plan, and their continuous argumentative attitudes are not helping matters. A low growl rumbles in her throat and she crosses her arms over her chest, feeling the familiar sensation of her forearms changing climbing further up her arms than usual. Beside her, both Ultear and Siegrain send her somewhat worried and panicked looks, not needing for the Dragon Slayer to snap at this time.

Siegrain gently places a hand on Jaelyn’s shoulder and she jumps at the sudden contact, dark green eyes becoming eclipsed in black as her top lip pulls back and she sends a low warning growl to the man. He simply gives her a small smile, telling her that everything is alright, and she lets out a long breath, the darkness retreating from her eyes and her arms returning to their usual state. Despite that, the next thing said makes both blue-haired Mages snap and glare around at the other Wizard Saints.

“On the subject of attacking the Tower of Heaven with Etherion: As it stands we will resolve to hold off using Etherion,” a Saint informs.

“Wait! Do you people really comprehend the situation we are in?” Siegrain demands, sounding more panicked than Jaelyn thought he would, but she can’t blame him.

“Don't make a scene, Sieg…” Yajima mutters. “You've already had your say! There are still peaceful ways of solving this.”

“Peaceful?” Jaelyn scoffs. “While we're wasting time doing this pointless farce, Jellal is resurrecting the dead! Can't you feel it?”

“The overflowing negative magical power…” Siegrain shakes his head, eyes wide with panic. “That's the horror of who he is trying to resurrect!”

“What?” a Saint asks. “Siegrain, what exactly are you…”

“We held back this information on the slight chance that it would leak out and cause panic, but I have no choice…”

“What are you talking about? Tell us everything!”

“The Black Wizard Zeref!”

There’s a tremble of unease. “Is that the truth?”

“Sieg!” Yajima exclaims.

“It's the truth,” Jaelyn assures the Council. “Siegrain and I understand Jellal better than anyone. Because he's my -  _ our _ \- triplet brother, after all.”

“We will vote once again,” a Council member informs.

With this new information causing unrest amongst the Wizard Saints, there is a string of hope in the air for this plan to go through, Jaelyn and her twin’s Thought Projection being the ones to see it happen. She unconsciously reaches for his hand, the reason mystifying to her, but one nonetheless, and is startled when he actually takes hold of the pale extremity, giving it a comforting and reassuring squeeze given their current predicament.

The highest ranking Wizard Saint finally nods. “Therefore, Etherion is given permission to fire upon the Tower of Heaven.”

A sigh of relief passes through Jaelyn’s lips as she and Siegrain leave the circle to stand around the giant lacrima which stores the Magic Power for the Etherion Blast, Ultear nearby and almost vibrating with excitement. The youngest Fernandes must admit that seeing such Power, and such a large lacrima, has a somewhat bewitching beauty to it.

“Pardon me,” Yajima says.

“Elder Yajima,” Siegrain greets aloud as Jaelyn inclines her head in greeting.

“Sieg… Jae… Are you really sure about this? If you think about it carefully once again, there might yet be another way.”

“You may not agree with our methods, but we cannot allow Zeref to be resurrected,” Jaelyn almost snaps at the lower Ranked Wizard Saint. “You know this, right, Elder Yajima?”

“I don't know anymore,” Yajima confesses, making the twins share a look of bewilderment. “You will take full responsibility! Right, Sieg? Jae?”

“Of course,” Siegrain agrees. “All responsibility lies with us.”

“What I meant is that you will be responsible for the lives you will take! You are trying to send your own triplet brother to oblivion! You will have to carry that loss of life on your back for the rest of your life, you two!

“We will bear it,” Jaelyn informs the older man. “We will bear the weight of Jellal's life.”

“So, what will you do?”

“There's no time,” Siegrain sighs. “Soon the light will rain down.”


	17. 14 • Old Friends in a Complete Tower

Humming under her breath, the female Slayer rests her forearms on the railing and stares down at the brilliantly glowing lacrima, feeling the Magic Power within it caress against her skin and warm her usually borderline freezing body. Despite what many believe due to its malleable and unaligned state, Magic _is_ actually _living force_ that blankets all of this reality, keeping it somewhat protected from other worlds and realities that would try to disrupt the natural flow of its charge. It’s not just some tool to be used on a whim, but a living, breathing art to be treasured and nurtured until it blossoms and gives a person the ability to do more than they previously could.

The echoing voices of Mages employed by the Magic Council wander around on the floor below, keeping an eye out for potential anomalies, preparing the Magic Power compressors, activating transference lacrima, calculating and setting space-time coordinates, and charging elements for the Etherion Blast. She understands everything that they’re saying, and it looks promising for the plan to go ahead and work out the way they need it to in order to get everything in place to revive Zeref.

“Magical Power 60% charged! Etherion elements 47% merged!” the workers yell out to the Mages standing above them. “Magical Power 60% charged! Etherion elements 47% merged!”

“To think we'd be pressured into this course of action while the Council Chair is ailing…” one of the Council members, Org, if Jaelyn remembers correctly, says, shaking his head. “It cannot be helped. While the Chair is absent, it is us 9 who are responsible for the stability of the magical world."

“Do not worry so much, Org,” the Saint closest to him says with a thin smile. “Even if we are attacking another country with Magic unprovoked, we can justify it under clause 27, paragraph…”

“This isn't a matter of law. We are about to fire Etherion. We're doing evil!”

“It's Zeref who is the true evil here. We can only pray that Etherion will be our saving grace and destroy Zeref!”

“It won't be long, Lord Siegrain and Lady Jaelyn,” Ultear says with a smile.

“Indeed,” Siegrain agrees.

“The dream you've had for 8 years will become a reality.”

“Are you not afraid, Ultear?” Jaelyn asks the leader of the 7 Kin of Purgatory.

“No, not even a little,” she replies. “Because I always have complete faith in you both.”

“I suppose so.”

Siegrain looks over to Ur’s daughter. “There is no danger to your life.”

“True I am shaking a little…” the Arc of Time Mage says with a small smile.

“If we fail, then myself and Jaelyn will be annihilated.”

“What?”

“But this is very much worth risking one's life for. Because this is our dream.”

“Yes. Another 25 minutes, then?” Jaelyn catches Ultear’s afterthoughts. _‘I'll never see you again, Siegrain.’_

The sudden but expected entrance of Erza back at the Tower of Heaven draws Jaelyn’s attention back to her true body, not the Thought Projections of herself and her twin. The appearance of the Requip Mage in this room is rather ironic as this is where Jellal was taken after he saved her, and it’s where “Zeref’s spirit” possessed his body, manipulating his thoughts and wills and desires. Instead of voicing her thoughts, Jaelyn simply grins.

“My, oh my,” Jellal says with fake sadness. “The game is already over?”

Jaelyn lounges on the chair and pouts. “That’s sad.”

“Is playing with people's lives so fun for the two of you?”

“It is fun,” the male Fernandes admits. “Birth and death, after all, are the origin and focus of all emotions. Or to put it the other way around, nothing is more boring than living on its own.” He looks over to his old friend and smiles. “It has been a while, Erza.”

“Jellal… I will liberate my past friends.”

“Do as you please. My sister and I no longer need them. The Tower of Heaven has been completed.”

“Even though it will be destroyed in less than 10 minutes?”

“You speak of Etherion? Such confidence…”

“So it was a bluff?”

“No. Etherion will rain down.”

“Hearing that makes me feel relieved. If I can delay you by 10 minutes, then this will all be over!”

“No. You will be annihilated as Zeref's sacrifice. It has already been decided! That is your fate. Your destiny!"

Jaelyn laughs, finally drawing Erza’s attention, and the former’s delighted to see strife and conflict alive in the brown-grey eyes of her childhood friend. She hasn’t seen such a powerless and broken look in those eyes since they were children on this island, and it’s something she has to admit that she’s somewhat missed after almost a decade.

“Seven more minutes. Seven more minutes and Etherion will rain down here,” Jellal informs. “Let's have fun for the next seven minutes, Erza.”

“Right now, I fear nothing,” Erza declares. “Even if Etherion comes, I will be satisfied to take you with me!”

“Oh? Take me - _us_ \- with you? Go ahead and try!”

“You finally finished the tower, and now you're destroying it? Don't you care, Jellal?”

“A pillar or two are nothing but decoration.”

“Sho and the others believed in you for eight years to make those decorations!”

“Stop complaining about every little thing I say. The important thing is the R-System. These eight years were for that, and that is complete!”


	18. 15 • Betrayal and Etherion

“Etherion is about to fire!” Erza yells. “What is your real goal? You haven't really completed the R-System, have you?”

“I haven't been doing nothing for these past 8 years. Jaelyn and I researched the R-System ourselves,” Jellal says with a shrug. “It's true there were no errors in the construction or theory of the blueprints back then, but there is something essential missing from the R-System. I told you, remember? You are the sacrifice.”

“A problem more basic than that. The thing we lack is Magical Power. A Prayer Under the Holy Light to activate a Magical Spell of this magnitude, you need a tremendous amount of Magical Energy,” Jaelyn says with a yawn. “It’s all rather tedious if you ask me, Erza.”

“Even if you assembled every Wizard on this continent, I'm not sure it would be enough. Of course there is no way an individual could store enough energy in this tower and, moreover, you know about the Council's attack but are not trying to escape,” Erza muses. “What are you thinking?”

“Three minutes until Etherion,” he says instead of answering.

“Jellal! Your dream is already over! Do you both simply wish to die like this? If that's the case, then we all go together.” She latches onto one of his hands. “I will not release this hand until the final moment!”

“Sure… That doesn't sound too bad. My body was possessed by Zeref's spirit - and, in turn, so was Jaelyn’s. No words will reach me, or even her. We’re nothing but puppets used for the purpose of resurrecting Zeref.”

“Possessed?”

“I wasn't able to save myself or my little sister. Not friends nor anyone else could save us. There is no Heaven… There is no freedom, anywhere. Everything was over before it even began.”

Jaelyn closes her eyes and sighs, already tiring of this whole “victim” routine that her twin has put together. She’s had enough of being a victim of other people - of _monsters_ \- in her life, so she’s not the biggest fan of having to once again be a victim to the whims of even the “Black Wizard Zeref” or rather, Ur’s daughter, Ultear Milkovitch. After being nothing but a tool for the Cult of Zeref on this island for almost seven years of her life - the most impressionable years of her life, mind you - she’s done with being that victim child.

_“Etherion, final firing phase complete! Satellite Square, deploy! No problems with the transference lacrima! Coordinates, locked.” The worker Mages continue to shout out certain phrases, allowing Jaelyn to keep track of what’s going on. “No signs of rejection from elemental merger. Begin countdown!”_

“I knew that the R-System wouldn't be able to be completed, but the spirit of Zeref wouldn't let me go. It's too late to stop it. I'm a broken engine that he's driving…” Jellal shakes his head and gives Erza a lop-sided smile, one laced with pain and regret. “Erza, you win. Please put an end to this. That's why you came here, yes? There is no point in delivering the final blow. The Satellite Square is already deployed above. It's over. For all three of us…”

“Always the awkward one…” She pulls the older male into a hug, unaware of the ulterior motive of the man she’s loved for years. “You're also a sacrifice to Zeref, yes?”

“This is my punishment for giving into my weakness. My heart wasn't able to handle the huge gap between dreams and reality.”

“Didn't you have friends there to fill in for your weaknesses and deficiencies?”

“Erza… I am also repenting for my sin of not being able to save you.”

“I was saved.”

Before any more can be said, a gigantic surge of Magic Power slams into the Tower of Heaven, causing the island to quake and its facade to fall away, revealing its true form. Jaelyn latches onto her twin as they go sprawling onto the floor, brief stings of pain stabbing random points of their bodies, echoed in the others’ bodies as the tower becomes rubble in the sea around them. Eventually it subsides and they’re able to regain their former positions on now solid ground. 

_‘I'm alive?’_ Jaelyn hears Erza exclaim before her attention is turned elsewhere. “Jellal? Jaelyn? What the hell is going on? Etherion fired… So why am I still alive?”

“Finally,” Jaelyn cheers.

Jellal laughs. “Finally, the time has come!”

“Why, you…” Erza trails off, unable to speak due to her rage.

“This is the true form of the Tower of Heaven! It's a giant lacrima! And thanks to the attack by the Council's Etherion, it has absorbed an incredible amount of magical energy! Now the R-System is complete!”

“You tricked me?”

“You were really cute there, Erza.”

“Jellal was not able to produce his true power,” Siegrain informs, walking over to them, Jaelyn’s own Thought Projection following behind him. “He was in mortal danger, so he had no choice but to trick you.”

“Siegrain!” Erza exclaims. “Why are you here?”

“Remember the first time we met, Erza. That time you came with Makarov to deliver a written letter of apology to the Magic Council, yes? You mistook me for Jellal and attacked me. Well, we look identical, so it's to be expected. After you heard we were twins, you finally were pacified. However you always treated me as your enemy.”

“Obviously! Instead of behaving as an older brother should, you tolerated what Jellal was doing! Or rather, you were spying on me!”

“Yes. That was my mistake. I should have said something like "I will find Jellal and make him stop, no matter what." I had finally become a member of the council, so meeting you at all was my greatest mistake. The lies we tell in an unplanned moment cause us the greatest pain.”

“So you two really did plot this together.”

“Together? No. That's not it, Erza. We are a single person. From the very beginning.”

“No… A Thought Projection?”

“Yes,” Jellal says as he and Siegrain merge, Jaelyn’s returning to her body as well. “Siegrain is me.”

“So you, yourself, fired Etherion? That's why you infiltrated the Council?”

“Did you enjoy your fleeting freedom, Erza? Everything went according to Zeref's scenario for resurrection.”

“You fiend… How many people have you deceived in your life?”

Erza flings herself at Jellal, dead set on kicking his ass and preventing him from continuing on with his plan. However, instead of him, she meets the deadly glare of the younger Fernandes, earning a sucker punch to her solar plexus. Before the Requip Mage gets a chance to regain her ability to breathe, Jaelyn gives her a grin and winks before headbutting the younger girl, sending her staggering back a handful of steps, tripping over her own feet in her disorientated state.

“What happened to your previous strength? Did you use up too much of your Magical Power in the battle with Ikaruga?”

“Jellal!”

“Right now the Council should be completely paralysed. I must be grateful to Ultear. She did quite well. She said, "If in heaven all are seen as one, then we need not fear even death." For my ideal, for my dream, she said she'd gladly lay down her own life. I truly must be thankful to be given that woman!”

“You fiend! You should die from the curses of all those you've used!” She goes to attack the cobalt-haired man, but her body becomes encased in red and black lines, a snake head on the end. “What is this?”

“Bind Snake,” Jaelyn informs. “He put it on you when you hugged before.”

“I have the Magical Power to activate the R-System. All I need now is the human sacrifice to resurrect Zeref.” Jellal smirks. “I have no more time to play with you, Erza. The tremendous amount of magical power this lacrima now stores, will be fused into your body. Your body will be deconstructed, and then reconstituted into Zeref's.” He pauses before turning to give his old friend a vulnerable look. “I loved you, Erza.”

Erza fights against _Bind Snake _as she’s forced into a lacrima. “Damn it! Damn!”

“O’ Great Zeref, I give to you this woman's body!”

“Jellal! Jellal!”

“Gotcha,” Natsu says with delight, pulling Erza from the Etherion lacrima. “Erza is a Fairy Tail wizard. You can't have her.”

Erza gives him a bewildered look. “Natsu…”

“Sheesh. What are you doing? We need to get back and do some work, or the rent won't get paid this month,” Natsu says with a grin. “Lucy's rent, that is.”

“Sorry,” the Requip Mage apologises. “I can't move.”

“Oh, yeah? You used to work me over pretty good! So take some of this!” 

“Natsu, get away from here as soon as you can.”

“Not a chance. If you can't do it, then I'll do it for you.”

“Stop. He's got the advantage. You don't know enough about him.”

“I will fight! Interesting!” Jellal declares. “Show me the Dragon Slayer's power!”

Natsu attacks Jellal, but everyone except the pink-haired Fire Dragon Slayer knows that it is pointless and it has already been decided who would win this round. Several yells of “Fire Dragon Wing Attack!”, “Fire Dragon Talon!” and “Fire Dragon Roar!” echo through the open battlefield, waves battering against the Hexagon Barrier surrounding a smug Jaelyn.

“Are you being serious?” Jellal spits with irritation. “Natsu Dragneel, the child of Igneel. I wanted to taste the destructive power of a Dragon Slayer before I destroyed you, but this is nothing to fear at all.”

“Say what?!” Natsu growls.

“How dare you interrupt the ceremony… I will use my Heavenly Body Magic to tear you to shreds!” Jaelyn erects another Hexagon Barrier, this one around Erza, as her twin fights back against Natsu. “Meteor!”

_‘Damn it! He's too fast! I shouldn't follow him with my eyes! Smell, sound, feel… Predict his movements Concentrate… Concentrate! There! He's even faster?’_

“Your attacks will never hit me again! This is the end. I will show you true destructive Magic. Be judged under the seven stars! Seven Star Blades! Grand Chariot!” A stream of pure light slams down upon the battlefield, bathing it in a powerful Magic Jaelyn hasn’t sensed in close on a decade. “That's a spell that destroys with the power of falling meteors. I'm impressed your body is still intact.” Her twin gives Natsu an amused look before looking around. “Perhaps I went a bit overboard. It would be dangerous to damage the R-System any further. The Magical Power is starting to leak out.”


	19. 16 • Heavenly Slayer

“What's wrong? That all you got?” Natsu snarls at Jellal. “You scared a breakin' the Tower, so you're holding back? That ain't gonna work on me, bub!”

“You ain't gonna talk so big for long, you brat!”

“_ Fire Dragon Brilliant Flame _!”

“The Tower I spent 8 years constructing…” Jellal gives Natsu an absolutely livid look. “How dare you!”

“Well, what a shame… I told you, remember? My speciality is destroying stuff.”

“You won't get away with it!” Darkness spills from Jellal’s hands, Jaelyn feeling her Magic reservoir being tapped into in order to fuel it. “This Magic is _ Dark Rondo _, Dragon Slayer!”

“Jellal! Will you let me be killed as well?” Erza screams, making the Heavenly Body Mage pause and look at the girl. “You need a body to resurrect Zeref, correct?”

“Yes,” Jaelyn admits, giving the Requip Mage a look. “It's a general requirement that the body be of a Wizard about as powerful as one of the Ten Wizard Saints, but, at this point, it doesn't have to be you anymore.”

Jellal laughs. “Die together, both of you!”

“Erza, move!” Natsu races towards his friend.

“You have nothing to fear,” a familiar voice informs, making Jaelyn’s skin crawl and her stomach drop. “I will protect you.”

The darkness vanishes and light takes its place. “_ Heavenly Body Magic: Altairis _!”

A dark form flings themselves in front of Erza and Natsu, shielding them from Jellal’s Heavenly Body Magic. With such a bright light before her eyes, Jaelyn is unable to tell just exactly who was stupid enough to do such a suicidal thing. It’s the least of her concerns until the light fades, revealing the battered body of Simon; the boy who protected both herself and Erza when they were enslaved kids on this god forsaken island. At seeing him with his arms flung out to the sides, her stomach drops and her eyes widen in surprise, not entirely sure as to how she’s feeling at this moment.

“Simon…” Jaelyn breathes in disbelief.

“Erza…” Simon says.

Erza finally finds her voice again. “Simon!”

“Still crawling around?” Jellal spits at the muscled man. “You worm…”

“But, why? Didn't you escape?” Erza flies forward as Simon collapses. “Simon!”

“I'm glad that I could be of help to you at last,” Simon murmurs to the red headed woman.

“I understand! Now, no more talking! You were always so kind so kind…”

He smiles up at her. “I loved you…”

“How pointless!” Jellal yells at the dying man. “How incredibly pointless!”

“They call that throwing away your life, Simon,” Erza berates, crying as she holds the man. “This doesn't change a thing, because there's no way anyone is leaving this tower alive! Shut up!”

As Simon’s life fades away, Jaelyn’s stupor is broken by the sound of Natsu eating the Etherion-filled Lacrima that the Tower of Heaven is made of. She curses him for being that much of an idiot to eat something that is fused with elements other than fire. However, despite her instant disbelief at the other Dragon Slayer’s choice, she can’t help but think that he might just be onto something.

“Did you seriously think you could power up by eating such powerful Magic Energy instead of flames?” Jellal laughs. “That kind of pea brained thinking will lead you to your own downfall!”

“He's actually absorbing Etherion?” Erza says in disbelief.

“You're the reason that Erza is crying!” Natsu snarls in anger. “I made a promise! I made a promise!”

“You cocky bastard!” Jellal roars.

Jaelyn picks up a handful of Etherion shards and weighs them for a moment before shrugging and eating them, instantly feeling the Magic Power from them assimilate with her body - and her body alone. A familiar, warm tingle runs along her arms and her skin burns as they morph into dragon claws, scales running from her claws up to the middle of her upper arms. The same sensation burns up the back of her neck and around the sides of her face, dark dragon scales following.

Her twin’s cry of, “_ Meteor _!” breaks her from another of her stupors, and she looks up to find him struggling to win against Natsu. She roars and throws herself into the fray, throwing the other Slayer to the ground with a single hit, allowing Jellal to have a small reprieve from the barrage of attacks. Jaelyn lands not too far from Natsu, glaring at him through slitted black eyes, her instincts purely animal and trained on protecting her older brother.

Natsu stands and meets Jaelyn’s deadly stare with something akin to confusion, barely registering her transformation and the sparks of Heavenly Body Magic sparking along the pitch black scales covering parts of her body. He goes to attack Jellal again, but is once again caught in a melee with Jaelyn, the slightly older girl having the upper hand due to having been trained in hand-to-hand combat from a young age. However, that’s not to say that Natsu is overly bad at such things, and he proves his worth by landing a flaming punch on Jaelyn’s jaw.

She uses that momentum and pivots around, slamming the heel of her palm into his chest, making him stumble back a few steps. “Just let this happen, Natsu. What’s the point in stopping us when someone else much stronger and deadlier is only going to do this exact thing in our place?”

“Zeref and I will create a truly free kingdom together!” Jellal yells before Natsu has a chance to reply to Jaelyn’s words - her _ plea _.

“And you'll make it by taking away other people's freedom?” Natsu demands.

“Only ones with the will to change the world can make history! Why can't you understand this? _ Abyss Break _!”

Natsu dodges the attack. “You will never find freedom! There is no such thing as freedom for somebody taken over by ghosts! Free yourself, Jellal!” 

He somehow manages to get past Jaelyn, and, for once, she’s too slow to stop the Fire Dragon Slayer. A flaming fist slams into Jellal’s face, the hit being simultaneously impacted upon Jaelyn’s face. Crying out, she clutches at her burning face and glares at where Natsu is standing over her twin brother’s prone form. Her mind feels strangely empty, and she feels as though something is going to happen to the memories she holds dear.

“This is Natsu's true power. This is a Dragon Slayer,” Erza murmurs. “He even defeated Jellal… The battle I've been fighting these 8 years is now over.”

Jaelyn feels her body return to normal except for several patches of midnight scales on her arms, and she feels Ultear’s presence fade from her mind, leaving her somewhat horrified at her actions on this island. Shaking her head and cursing under her breath at what she did today, her body begins to quake and her eyes begin to burn as black bleeds into them.

She feels a terrible Magical Power coming from the Lacrima tower, instantly knowing that the Etherion stored in it is going out of control. Keeping such a great amount of Magical Power in one place means that it will not stay stable for long, and a turbulent vortex of Magical Power with nowhere else to go will burst out, causing a giant explosion that will wipe out anyone within a fifty kilometre (about 31 miles) radius from the centre of the blast.

“I’m not letting this happen…” Jaelyn looks over to the Lacrima and her twins’ words echo in her mind: _ “The tremendous amount of Magical Power this Lacrima now stores, will be fused into your body. Your body will be deconstructed, and then reconstituted into Zeref's.” _

She makes her way over to the Lacrima, determined to see her plan through: if she can fuse with the Etherion, then she will be able to control this Power and stop the explosion from killing those she cares about. Climbing into the Lacrima before Erza does, Jaelyn manages to shove the red headed girl away before she’s taken into the lacrima as well, taking note of the shocked look on the faces of both Erza and Natsu, neither having even considered this.

“Jaelyn…” Natsu takes a staggering step towards the girl. “What are you doing?”

“I’m doing the only thing possible to stop Etherion. This tower is going to explode once the Etherion goes out of control, and it will kill all of you.” Jaelyn smiles softly at the boy. “I’m going to fuse with Etherion and suppress it so you can all get out of here and live. After all the hell I’ve caused, let me do this, Natsu.”

“What are you saying, you idiot! If you do that, you'll…”

“Don't worry about me, alright? I don’t deserve to live after everything I’ve done.”

“Stop it! Jaelyn!”

Jaelyn smiles and allows herself to be taken into the Lacrima, glad to finally be able to rest after practically nineteen years of utter hell, and glad to have been able to protect Gray, Lavinia and everyone else on that damned boat from such a painful death.


	20. 17 • Home? Not Yet

In her unconscious state, she has a dream about what life would have been like if she dies, and it is surprisingly heartbreaking. Truth be told, there are some instances she’s happy about - such as Lavinia and Bickslow, Juvia and Gray, Gajeel and Levy (however that came to happen), and Natsu and Lucy - but other things - such as people crying around her grave - aren’t overly appealing to her.

She sees people that she hasn’t seen in years, and it honestly breaks her heart to see them crying for their loss of the broken girl that she is. Despite the pain she’d inflicted over the years, and all the pain that was inflicted on her, she’s still managed to somehow have people who care for her after everything she’s put them through either on purpose or accidentally.

Despite her best attempts, Natsu and Erza refuse to let Jaelyn die inside the Lacrima. It shouldn’t have come as that much of a surprise to her, but she really can’t believe her eyes when she returns to consciousness on a beach with both Mages next to her. Sitting up, she looks over to see everyone standing around on the beach, and her body moves of its own accord until she’s flush against Gray, her arms around his neck and his tightly around her as they share a long overdue hug. Another pair of arms wrap around the pair, and Jaelyn relaxes as Lavinia’s scent reaches her nose.

“You’re both alright,” Jaelyn says with relief. “Thank fuck you’re both alright. I don’t know what I would have done if either of you had been hurt on that damn island, and all because of my stupidity.”

“Don’t go blaming yourself, Jae,” Gray soothes the older girl. “We both know who really is to blame for all this, so you don’t need to take any of it onto yourself.”

“I could have stopped all of this when I found out who it was controlling Jellal and manipulating me, so why didn’t I? I could have saved my brother, Gray!”

“Stop blaming yourself,” Lavinia berates, forcing the other Slayer to look at her. “It’s not your fault.”

The ride back to Magnolia is uneasy for everyone, but it’s especially uneasy for Jaelyn, who feels as though something is seriously wrong with her mind - she can’t feel Jellal, at all, and his memories seem to be slowly vanishing from her mind. However, with Gray and Lavinia by her side to help her through it all, she doesn’t feel as though she will lose herself in this chaos.

Upon arriving back at the Fairy Tail Guild Hall, Jaelyn is shocked to find it rebuilt - as well as much bigger and better than before. The only thing she’s not overly happy about is that everyone is now allowed up on the second floor, and that means she will have to find a new sanctuary. Sighing, she finds herself a dark corner in the rebuilt guild hall to listen to Makarov informing them all of both Juvia and Gajeel joining the Guild - which she knew already.

A sharp pain in her temple distracts her from the older man’s words and she feels her mind turn hazy, almost as if someone is tampering with it yet again. Some of the memories in her mind become unreachable, and they’re not hers alone, but Jellal’s as well. She can’t seem to hold onto them as they fade from her mind, becoming lost in whatever abyss memories go to where they’re not needed. It terrifies her to know that something is  _ strong enough  _ to take her memories, and it pisses her off to know that something thinks it has the  _ right  _ to take her memories.

Drawn from those worrying thoughts when two of the Fairy Tail Wizards call for Gajeel, Jaelyn instantly knows that something is not right. So, she and Lavinia follow the three of them, smiling when they realise they’re not the only ones; that Levy is also doing the same thing. Magnolia Park is their destination, and Jaelyn can’t help but question the irony of this place after what happened in this exact pact the other week with Phantom Lord - more specifically, Gajeel.

“What's the deal calling me out here?” Gajeel huffs at the members of Fairy Tail. “I was thinking about going out on a job.”

“A job?” Droy complains. “You're the guy who destroyed the guild! You got no right to a job!” 

“You guys sure are petty. Stop it. I don't hold any grudges at all.”

Jet glares at Gajeel. “This is how we settle the score!”

“You won't be feeling so confident for long,” Droy says with a smug grin.

The idiots attack the Iron Dragon Slayer without much of a plan, and he makes no move to either defend himself or retaliate, much to his friends’ amusement. Lavinia and Jaelyn move in front of Gajeel and the latter flicks her hand, sending Jet and Droy stumbling back a few steps. When they go to retaliate, they’re left stumped at the sudden appearance of the two S-Class Wizards, and even Gajeel is surprised that they stepped in when they did. In fact, even the Dark Dragon Slayer herself is mildly shocked that she and the Moon Dragon Slayer came to his aid.

“Hey. What're you playing at?” Laxus’ voice booms. “What kind of bullying is this?”

Jaelyn turns her gaze to the Lightning Dragon Slayer. “Laxus, don’t. It’s not worth it and you know it.”

“So this is the kid that did a number on my Guild? Gramps let someone join to keep the Guild from being busted up? That's exactly why people look down on us!”

Gajeel growls. “You little piece of…”

“On the road back to town, I heard things in bars here and there that really pissed me off. "Fairy Tail ain't anything special"? "Those guys are already through"? It's your fault!”

Lavinia steps towards her older brother. “Laxus, don’t do this! You need to be rational about this before you mess this up for the fucking rest of us!”

Lightning strikes Gajeel and Jaelyn grits her teeth, glaring the the blond Slayer as he attacks one of the few friends she has. Despite that, she knows that, after everything Gajeel has done, he does deserve some of this, but not to this extent - especially after he just got attacked by two Mages, no matter how mediocre they may have been. Watching this is making her almost relive the things she’d rather not, and the things she’d die before letting anyone she gives a damn about suffer through.

Several more strikes repeatedly hit the other Slayer and Jaelyn deems it enough, sending a small burst of air towards Laxus that makes his Magic change target. It feels like… well, it feels like every nerve in her body is being electrocuted all at once, the lightning jumping from nerve to nerve and then into her muscles and finally into her bloodstream, all the way to her core, making her twitch and swear at the hauntingly familiar sensation. At least there’s no pain in the form of a cursed whip from one of the Nine Demon Gates coming next; she’s not sure she’d be able to handle that part without screaming.

“Jaelyn!” Lavinia turns and gives her best friend a horrified look before turning to her older twin, giving him a malicious glare. “What the fuck, Laxus?!”

“What the hell, Jaelyn?” Gajeel barks at her. “You trying to get yourself killed?”

Jaelyn gives him a look. “After everything, that might just be it, but I really don’t need my brother dying on me. That is, if that’s how our fucking bond works.”

“Are you trying to piss me off more, blue?” Laxus sneers at the younger Slayer, making her cross her arms and stare at the hulking man. “You’re going the right way about it.”

“I warned you not to do this, but you’re doing it anyway. Consider  _ me _ fucking pissed off,  _ sparky _ .”

“I’ll deal with that later. I’m not finished here.”

Jaelyn grips Gajeel’s wrist and goes to erect a  _ Hexagon Barrier _ , but Laxus’ lightning is much faster than she originally gave it credit for. It batters her body and rips open her skin, the blood already on her skin from the last hit drying right before her eyes. Glaring at the Lightning Slayer, Jaelyn barely hears Lavinia and Levy yelling at him to stop before lightning strikes both Slayers yet again.

“Stop it, Laxus!” Levy berates. “That's enough!”

Laxus turns his attack to the blue-haired Script Mage. “The weaklings should stay outta this!”

A bolt of lightning heads straight for Levy, and she has no way of blocking it. Even Jaelyn is too slow in erecting a  _ Hexagon Barrier _ around the Script Mage, Lavinia trying to send her brother flying in order to direct the lightning in another direction before it hits Levy, but they both find they have no need to when the dust clears. Jaelyn’s hand is empty, and, standing in front of an unharmed Levy, is a pissed Gajeel, his left arm a scorched iron rod.

“Gajeel?” Levy asks hesitantly.

“You satisfied?” Gajeel snarls. “I have work to do.”

“Um…”

“Leave me alone.”

The Iron Dragon Slayer stalks off, Levy hesitating for a few minutes before thanking Jaelyn and Lavinia for her help and hurrying back to the Guild after the aforementioned Slayer, leaving the other three Slayers glaring at each other in Magnolia Park. Laxus’ expression almost falls once they’re alone and there’s a sliver of regret in those grey eyes that she loves so much. Lavinia rolls her eyes and a growl rumbles deep in her throat, beyond irritated with her older brother. Jaelyn sighs and drags her hand down her face, absolutely fed up with all the testosterone-filled fighting that’s she’s had to deal with since she first came to Fairy Tail, and it shows no sign of going away any time soon. 

“You won’t learn until it’s beat into you, will you?” Jaelyn huffs, shaking her head.

“You’re blaming me for this?” Laxus growls in disbelief. “The old geezer shouldn’t have let him join the damn Guild!”

“You have  _ no _ say in who joins Fairy Tail! None! And, at the rate you’re going, you’re never fucking going to, Laxus! You know what? I’m glad you don’t, because, if you did, half the people in it wouldn’t be here - including me!”

“Fucking hell, Jaelyn. Since when did you care?”

“Since you just attacked my friend. I’ve known him for technically over four hundred years, and you just hurt him in front of me. Do you have a death wish, sparky?”

“Idiocy… This isn't the Fairy Tail I have in mind,” Laxus growls. “I can't take this any longer! Fairy Tail will be mine!”

Jaelyn grabs the hulking man by the ear and drags him after her without much of a hassle, ignoring the bewildered looks of the civilians as she leads Laxus through the streets until she reaches the canal, and, after sucker punching him in the stomach, she shoves him into the canal. “Cool the fuck off, you moron.”

Lavinia follows after the pair, trying her hardest not to laugh as the hulking male gets thrown into the canal with little effort from the small bluenette. “Best day ever.”


	21. 18 • The Battle of Fairy Tail

After a beauty pageant gone wrong, almost all the females in the Guild had formerly been turned to stone thanks to Evergreen’s lovely little  _ Stone Eyes _ Eye Magic, and Natsu, Gajeel, Lavinia and Jaelyn are trapped inside the Guild Hall whilst everyone else is outside battling either each other or a member of the Thunder Legion. Actually, Jaelyn wouldn’t say she and Lavinia trapped exactly, since they  _ may _ be the exceptions of the Slayers, and the ones Freed’s enchantment may let through. She’d say that she just can’t be bothered leaving her book right now, and Lavinia doesn’t look to be overly interested in the fighting going on outside. Maybe when the Rune Magic is deactivated, and the Fire and Iron Slayers go to face the Lightning Slayer, the Dark and Moon Slayers may decide to go have some fun before it’s all over.

Despite their mutual irritation at Laxus for going through with this stupid plan, Jaelyn has to admit that he’s given her the perfect opportunity to go kick his ass and teach him a lesson: not to cross her, or anyone in Fairy Tail really, and Lavinia wouldn’t mind giving the younger girl a hand with the teaching of that lesson. No matter how much Jaelyn denies it, she can’t help but feel somewhat amicable and  _ warm _ towards the insanely wild members of the century old Guild. It’s chaotic, yes, but at least the people within it are able to trust each other to have their backs in a battle.

The second she hears Laxus say that he’s activated Thunder Palace, Jaelyn is on her feet and stalking towards Freed’s barrier, slamming her fists against it and glaring up at the Lacrima surrounding Magnolia. Barely anyone pays attention to her inability to get out, except for Lavinia and Mirajane, and all the girls quickly run past her to join in the fighting, leaving the four Dragon Slayers trapped inside of the Fairy Tail Guild Hall, forced to read the winners and losers off the Rune Magic sealing them in. Lavinia walks over to her best friend and one-time lover, hugging her from behind and humming in an attempt to contain the younger woman’s bubbling anger.

“That's it,” Levy exclaims, making Jaelyn and Lavinia look back at the Script Mage, realising that she’s one of the few who remained behind instead of going off to fight.

“What's it?” Natsu asks curiously.

“She’s done it again,” Jaelyn says with a smirk. “We’re gonna be out there soon.”

“I got it! You read the two grammars at different rates to decipher it! Then I match the corresponding time differentiated letters and convert to Gheel grammar… Then translate into Rogue… I solved it! Wait a sec! I'll rewrite the runes!”

Natsu cheers. “Yeah!”

“Jaelyn… Lavinia… Natsu… Gajeel… Are you ready? You're about to join the Battle of Fairy Tail!”

Jaelyn rolls her shoulders, knowing exactly where to head when the Rune Magic is gone. “I’m going to kick that idiot’s ass!”

Lavinia nods in agreement, releasing the cobalt-haired girl. “My brother’s a dumbass, and he deserves what he’s going to get today.”

“I'm all fired up!” Natsu bellows.

“It's time for rampage!” Gajeel says with a grin.

Barely a second after the barrier is nullified, Jaelyn and Lavinia sprint through the streets, heading straight for Kardia Cathedral, where they know the older Slayer will be. Shoving open the giant doors, the pair expertly side-step a lightning strike and send matching glares over to the hulking man, making him simply shrug in response.

“I get why you’re doing this, Laxus, but  _ Thunder Palace _ is a little far, don’t you think?” Lavinia asks.

“Are you trying to become your father, or even me?” Jaelyn muses, walking over to Laxus, hearing someone walk in behind her. “You’re going to kill thousands of people just so you can be Fairy Tail’s Master? How fucking ironic.”

“This is the only way,” Laxus snaps back at her.

“What a stubborn old fool, as usual,” the Edolas version of her twin brother muses, walking into the Cathedral, staves strapped to his back and cloths covering his face.

“Oh? You came, Mystogan? I didn't think you'd be participating in this game!”

“If you call off the  _ Thunder Palace _ right now, it is still possible to pass this off as merely entertainment.”

“So blissfully ignorant… Haven't you heard the rumors figuring who is the strongest in Fairy Tail, Jaelyn, Lavinia, you or me?”

“Although I don't really care, aren't you forgetting Erza?”

“Her? Not a chance. She's on the right track, but still weak.”

“Erza, weak? Are you truly that blind?”

“I'm saying I recognize your skills, Mystogan. I wonder which one of us four is really the strongest in Fairy Tail?”

“If that is all your eyes can see, I wonder who is the one so blissfully ignorant?”

“Let's settle this. We'll decide who's the strongest! Mystogan, or rather, another Jellal.”

Lavinia rolls her eyes. “Jaelyn would kick your asses right now, and I’d do the same to you when the moon’s risen.”

“I’m stronger than both-” Jaelyn’s words are cut off when she realises the words that left the other Slayer’s mouth, her horrified gaze turning briefly to the blond man before turning to her twin’s opposite.

Mystogan looks over to Jaelyn in a panic and she shakes her head, telling him that she wasn’t the one who told the Lightning Dragon Slayer of his true identity. “Where did you learn of that?”

“Oh? That's quite rare to see you panic,” Laxus teases. “Where did I find out? Who knows? Maybe I'll tell you if you beat me.”

“You will regret this, Laxus. You will now witness Magic that you have never seen before!”

“Ooh, scary. Give me your best shot, buddy.”

“I'll show you just how different we two are!” His staves bury themselves into the ground in a semi-circle shape in front of him, emitting a purple light. “Skyscraper.”

An illusion of the ground being destroyed and Laxus being propelled into space surrounds Jaelyn and Lavinia, and they watch as he is then tied up with four belts. A frog-like, draconic Demon tears a hole in the emptiness of the space illusion, reaching out to attack the Slayer. Jaelyn knows that this spell is generally used to break the target's mind, but can also serve as a distraction, should the target be strong enough to break the illusion.

“What the… Impossible! The entire cathedral? What the hell is this Magic?” Laxus breaks himself free of the illusion. “What a joke! You thought this illusion would actually work on me, Mystogan?”

“Impressive. But you noticed just a bit too late. Sleep.  _ Five Layered Magic Circle: Sacred Song _ !”

Using his Magic Staves, Mystogan creates five Magic Seals appear on top of Laxus, which, combined, releases a concentrated beam of Magic Power directly below it. However, Laxus somehow slipped out of it, most likely by using a Thought Projection, and Jaelyn knows that this is the end of the battle between her twin’s opposite and the Lightning Dragon Slayer once she hears Natsu and Erza arrive at the Cathedral. Lavinia looks over her shoulder and a grin makes a way onto her face, knowing that she may well witness something out of the ordinary.

“Laxus!” Natsu yells. “Erza!” 

“Natsu! You got out?” Erza asks, clearly shocked. “And, who's that? Mystogan?”

Laxus charges at Mystogan. “You let down your guard!”

Jaelyn reacts a second too late, meaning she’s unable to stop the older man from removing Mystogan’s mask. However, she manages to send him flying with her  _ Dark Rondo _ spell a second after he’s removed it, giving her some satisfaction. Lavinia assists her friend through use of her  _ Telekinesis _ and nods in satisfaction as her twin struggles back onto his feet, gray eyes dark and daring; a threatening promise burning in their depths. Turning her gaze towards Erza and Natsu, Jaelyn sees the confusion and disbelief on their faces, as well as the betrayal and pain.

“Jellal?” Natsu asks in confusion.

“You're Jellal…” Erza murmurs. “Y-You're alive?”

“Oh, a familiar face?” Laxus sneers, heaving himself up from the floor only to narrowly avoid being hit by Jaelyn’s  _ Dark Mass _ spell.

“W-What's going on here? Are you Mystogan or Jellal? Jellal…”

“Erza, I especially didn't want you to see. I am not Jellal. I know of him, but I am not him. I apologise. I leave the rest to you, Jaelyn, Lavinia.” Mystogan gives the younger girl a sad look before pulling his mask back on and leaving the cathedral, making the Dark Dragon Slayer worry about this man she’s come to see as her older brother, Lavinia’s brow furrowed at the exchange.

“Hey, you!” Natsu groans as Mystogan leaves. “Now I'm all confused… I'll deal with that later. Laxus, I came here to fight! Erza, you'll let me handle him, right?”

Natsu attacks Laxus without much provocation, but with a kind of heart and soul that Jaelyn hasn’t seen in the younger boy before. This battle might be quite a lot about beating Laxus, but it’s also about Natsu protecting his friends and the people in Magnolia. Jaelyn smiles and shakes her head at the utter idiocy, but throws herself into the fray as well, attacking the man she’s come to like more than she should, and it’s somewhat painful for her to do so, but also easier than it should be. Lavinia is quick to follow her friend, sending a Magic-powered punch to Laxus’ head, the hit colliding with an audible  _ thump _ .

Erza briefly joins the fight as well, wielding her Thunder Empress armour, but she’s quick to relent, leaving the fighting to Jaelyn, Lavinia and Natsu as she goes to destroy the lacrima for Laxus’  _ Thunder Palace _ spell, calling for everyone to lend her strength. It won’t be a pretty sight out there, but, inside the cathedral, it’s going to be an even uglier sight: Jaelyn, Lavinia and Natsu against Laxus.


	22. 19 • Dragons and Fantasia

“Raging Bolt!” Laxus snarls, laughing as lightning slams into the Fire Dragon Slayer. “Natsu! Who was the strongest in the guild again?” He scoffs at seeing Natsu prone of the cathedral’s floor. “Oh, I’m sorry. You can’t answer because you’ve been turned to dust!”

Jaelyn rolls her eyes and cracks her neck, feeling a rush of adrenaline flood her body and the familiar sensation of her _Dragon Force_ work its way up her arms, her skin turning to scales and small patches appearing on bared and clothed skin alike, her eyes becoming sharper and deadlier looking compared to normal. Lavinia grins and feels her own _Dragon Force_ work it’s way over and through her body, shimmering white scales flecked with silver in place of Jaelyn’s onyx and cobalt flecked scales, nails morphing into claws and eyes changing to match that of Jaelyn’s. Before either Dragoness can attack, they finally smell Gajeel, and it’s only when the smoke clears that they know he protected Natsu.

“Weren’t you his ally?” Gajeel growls, making Jaelyn and Lavinia look over to the man. “Something’s wrong with you being happy he’s wiped out. Although he ain’t been. Gettin’ rid of him is my role.”

Natsu forces himself upright. “Gajeel…”

“Another snack shows up,” Laxus muses with a delighted grin. “Disappear, disappear! Anyone who stands in my way should just disappear!”

“Lavinia and I will handle Laxus,” Jaelyn snarls back at the other Slayers, feeling her muscles tremble beneath her skin. “Both of you need to stay back.”

“I’ve got a personal grudge with him,” Natsu retorts, standing.

“His monstrous strength is the real deal though. He’s got Makarov’s blood running in him. I don’t like it, but we’ve got no choice.” Gajeel closes his eyes and huffs, already hating the next words that are going to leave his mouth. “We’ll all fight together!”

Jaelyn peers at him over her shoulder. “You’re serious. Fucking great… If anyone finds out about me, I’m going to fucking skin you alive, Gaj.”

Lavinia growls and rolls her shoulders. “This is insanity…”

“You’re joking, right?” Natsu bites back at the older Slayer. “I’m gonna defeat Laxus! I mean, how could I ever team up with you?!”

“Take a look,” Gajeel snaps. “Is that the Laxus you know?”

Laxus has a crazed look on his face. “Disappear! Disappear!”

Lavinia winces, wishing that she didn’t know exactly what’s going through her older twins’ mind at this moment - or what’s driven him to go through with this completely idiotic and borderline suicidal plan.

“That’s an enemy of the Guild. We have to stop him here to protect the Guild.” Gajeel shares a brief look with Jaelyn and Lavinia before looking back over at Natsu. “The rest of them are down for the count after the counterattack from the _Thunder Palace_. Do you realize what will happen if we don’t stop him here?

“You’re gonna protect the Guild?” Natsu asks in surprise.

“Whether I protect the Guild or destroy the Guild, it’s my choice!”

“Didn’t you say that there wasn’t room enough in the sky for two Dragons?”

“There isn’t, but with all this annoying lightning, you can’t fly in the sky.”

Natsu grins over at the Iron Dragon Slayer. “Okay, but I’m only teaming up this once, Gajeel!”

Gajeel grins at the Fire Dragon Slayer. “You got that right! We’ll settle things one day!”

Jaelyn huffs and shoves her hair from her face, getting sick of how long and easily irritating it can be at this length. “I’ll let you idiots do this then… Don’t blame me if this goes south.”

Lavinia laughs and nudges her friend. “Calm down, missy. It’ll all work out.”

Despite their best attempts, and to the utter shock of only Gajeel and Natsu, the combined power of four Dragon Roars - two at full power, one at half power due to it being the middle of the day and one barely scratching the surface, as strong as the others - Laxus has very little damage to his body. When he fires back, Jaelyn is the only one who moves out of his Lightning Dragon Roar in time, shoving Lavinia out of the way as she does so, causing them both to go tumbling to the floor, the others getting caught up in the ancient and powerful Magic, leaving them temporarily paralysed on the floor of Kardia Cathedral.

“You two, Erza, Mystogan, the old man, the trash in the guild, all the people in Magnolia…” Laxus channels Fairy Law, and Jaelyn’s eyes widen in horror. “I’ll make them all disappear!”

“What’s with this crazy Magical Power?” Gajeel growls.

“This Power…” Natsu’s eyes widen in disbelief. “It’s Gramps’... It targets everything the caster sees as an enemy… Master Makarov’s Ultimate Spell of Judgment! _Fairy Law_!”

Lavinia jumps to her feet and moves towards her brother. “Laxus! Stop!”

“That’s right! _Fairy Law_!” Laxus grins. “The Spell that destroyed Master Joze in one hit.”

“Stop it, Laxus!” Jaelyn snarls, climbing to her feet and standing beside, more worried than ever about this man. “This is going to far, and you fucking know it, you dumbass prick!”

“Laxus!” The doors to the cathedral slam open and Levy runs in. “Stop it, Laxus!”

“Levy! You idiot!” Gajeel berates the smaller girl. “Why are you here?”

“Laxus! The Master is… The Master… Your grandfather is on death’s door! So please, stop this! Come see him!”

In that split second, Jaelyn feels her heart stop, and Lavinia feels as though all the air is suddenly expelled from her lungs. This is the man that took Jaelyn in despite her past, and despite the truth of her allegiance, and he’s about to die? For a moment she can’t believe that such a man would die this suddenly, and for practically no reason at all, but then she considers what Laxus is doing could be badly affecting the older man’s health. Sighing, she turns to look at Laxus, but she finds nothing but insanity and murderous intent in those beautiful grey eyes.

This isn’t the man she knows. Despite all his shortcomings and complete idiocy and self-centeredness at times, the man she knows would never consider using Fairy Law to end the lives of those he believes to be weak; he wouldn’t sacrifice the only decent living relative he has left just to gain power, no matter what he says. Something evil is driving this man, and it’s reminding Jaelyn of those within the Dark Guilds; that which Ivan Dreyar has within him.

“Fairy Law is invoked!”

Lavinia watches as Jaelyn walks over to the man wielding _Fairy Law_ and places a scaled hand on his arm, making those soulful grey eyes look down at her. There’s such agony and painful insanity in those eyes, and it makes her wonder whether what he saw in her memories the other week has taken a much harsher toll on his psyche than either of them thought. Reaching up, she pulls his head down and kisses him softly, trying the only thing she can think of to bring him back to at least the brink of sanity. Words are futile in an instance such as this, and this is the next best thing after kicking his ass.

The golden Magic of _Fairy Law_ resonates in the air and light encompasses the whole of Magnolia, bathing every Wizard and civilian in a warmth they’re not likely to forget. It’s calm and healing instead of wrathful and desolate, and it makes everyone who’s unaware of the truth behind it be filled with delight. Being at the epicentre along with Laxus, Jaelyn feels the remainder of Ultear’s influence leave her mind, and she’s left feeling cared for in this city; in Fairy Tail.

As the light fades, she pulls away from him and steps away from the shocked and bewildered Wizard, his grey eyes blinking several times in an attempt to comprehend what just happened. Behind her, Jaelyn knows that both Natsu and Levy are in similar states to Laxus, and she has a nagging feeling that both Gajeel and Lavinia are smirking at her. One look over her shoulder confirms her suspicions, but the moment is broken the second Laxus realises _Fairy Law_ didn’t work how he wanted it to.

“B-But… Why?” Laxus is almost unable to string a sentence together. “Why weren’t any of you killed?”

“You okay?” Levy asks Gajeel.

“Yeah, I’m fine,” the Slayer replies in a gruff voice. “How about Natsu?”

“Seems okay to me.”

“After using all that Magical Power…” Jaelyn looks at the doorway of the cathedral to find Freed standing there. “All the members of the Guild and the people of the city are safe as well.”

“Freed,” Laxus says in disbelief.

“Not a single person has been killed.”

His disbelief turns to anger. “That shouldn’t be! My _Fairy Law_ was perfect!”

“It was your heart, Laxus,” Jaelyn murmurs, making those cold, grey eyes turn to her. “You inherited more than just Makarov’s strength and Magical Power - you also got a heart that feels for your friends. Fairy Law only affects those the caster sees as his enemy.” She gives him a weak smile. “You understand what this means, right Laxus?”

“The feelings he has deep down are revealed through his Magic,” Freed muses. “Magic never lies, Laxus. This is what you really feel.”

Lavinia walks over to her twin and smiles up at him. “You care about us more than you let on, and that means both Jaelyn and myself as well.”

“No!” Laxus roars, making Jaelyn and Lavinia sigh. “Everyone who gets in my way is my enemy! My enemy!”

“Just quit this already, Laxus,” Freed sighg. “Go to the Master.”

“Who gives a crap about that old man? I am me! Not just some old man’s “grandson!” I’m Laxus!”

Jaelyn gives him a sad look. “Laxus…”

“Everybody knows that,” Freed assures the man.

“Don’t get so puffed up, you jerk!” Natsu snarls. “Does being Gramps’ grandson make you so different from the rest of us?! Lavinia is Gramps’ granddaughter, but you don’t see her going insane like you, do you?! Quit screaming about blood relatives! Everybody in the Guild is in the same family!”

“And what the hell do you know?” Laxus snarls

“So I don’t know! Aren’t we Guild Mates anyway?! None of us know! That’s why we help each other out! Laxus!”

“Shut up, Natsu! Disappear off the face of the earth!”

“I’ll be the one to stop you! Even if the Guild dies, it’ll never be yours, because it’s our home to return to!”

Natsu and Gajeel launch an all-out assault on Laxus, taking down the Lightning Dragon Slayer without either Lavinia’s or Jaelyn’s help, much to their amusement. Instead of stopping any of the testosterone-fuelled males, the pair walks over to Freed and Lavinia helps him back to the Guild Hall, his thin frame and lack muscle mass making it an easy job. On the way back to Fairy Tail, they find Bickslow and Evergreen, both struggling to regain their footing after serious beatdowns, so Jaelyn uses _Dark Grab_ to carry the latter back to the Guild Hall, Bickslow’s lithe arm around her shoulders as she helps him limp back to the Hall, the Slayers listening to the end of the battle between the three Dragon Slayers back at Kardia Cathedral.

It’s barely half an hour after they drag the three other members of the Thunder Legion into the infirmary that Natsu and Gajeel arrive, and Porlyusica is quick to bandage them up, but not without a lot of grumbling about how she hates Humans. Jaelyn half smiles at the older woman’s words, distracted by the confrontation outside from where Laxus has walked back into the Guild Hall. Without a word of goodbye, the cobalt-haired teenager makes her way out of the infirmary and onto the main floor, her blonde-haired friend right behind her.

“Laxus!” one of the members snarl. “Why, you…”

“Where’s the old man?” Laxus asks, not meeting any pairs of eyes except for Jaelyn’s and his sister’s.

“How dare you,” another accuses. “No matter how much you hang your head, you think we’ll let you see the master?”

A third agrees. “Yeah, that’s right!”

“Stop it!” Erza barks, silencing them all. “Will you cease this?”

“Leave him be.” Jaelyn steps up and tugs on Laxus’ jacket. “Come on. He’s in the inside clinic.” She leads him through the Guild Hall and into a secluded spot close to the inside clinic before turning to the man, Lavinia hovering a short distance away to give them some sort of privacy, Jaelyn staring up at him with unreadable eyes. “I get it, Laxus, I do, but what I don’t get it what drove you to such an extent. That look in your eyes… It was like looking into a mirror.”

“You think some of the shit from your memories fucked me up?”

She hums in agreement and runs her partially scaled fingers along his forearms.

“I don’t know, blue. Maybe it did.” He sighs. “I need to see the old man.”

Jaelyn knocks on the door to the clinic and calls for Makarov, only for the short man to open the door himself and walk out, motioning for the three to follow him. He leads them to his office and Jaelyn shuts the door behind herself and Lavinia, the Dragonesses refusing to leave the pair alone lest either of the other temperamental Dreyar’s decide to let loose their bottled up feelings towards each other. Thankfully, neither of them say anything against either being there, so they lean against the wall and listen.

“Do you understand what you have done? Look me in the eyes.” Makarov doesn’t continue until Laxus does just that. “Guilds, you see… They’re a place where friends gather… They’re a place where you can get work… And to kids with no place to go, they can be a home. They’re not something you can own. A Guild is the confidence and good will of each individual, and from them the tough bonds that are formed. You went against that good will and threatened the lives of your fellow members. This is not something that can be forgiven.”

“I know,” Laxus agrees. “I wanted to make this Guild stronger…”

“You’re so awkward. Try relaxing a little, would you? If you do that, maybe you’d see things you can’t right now; you’d hear words that you can’t hear now. Life is more fun! Raising you and your sister was like a new lease on life for me. You don’t need Power; you don’t have to be smart - just be happy and healthy. That’s all I ever wanted for you Laxus; you and your sister…” Makarov turns and stares out the window, crying. “You are expelled!”

“Yeah… Sorry for the trouble… Old man… Take care of yourself.”

When Laxus tells the other members of the Thunder Legion, it really hits the fan, and Jaelyn can’t blame the three of them for reacting the way they do. Leaning against the bar beside Lavinia, the cobalt-haired nineteen-year-old and the blonde-haired twenty-three-year-old can’t help but feel sorry for the idiotic trio, even the bitchy Evergreen. Out of them all, Freed’s the most upset about Laxus being kicked out of the Guild, and that amuses Jaelyn, because he’s clearly in love with the Lightning Dragon Slayer.

“Get out!” Evergreen exclaims. “You’ve got to be kidding me!”

“Why are you the only one that’s expelled?” Freed demands.

“Aren’t we just as guilty?” Bickslow muses, tongue hanging out of his mouth.

“Aren’t we?” his babies echo.

“It’s what the old man decided,” Laxus says with a shrug.

“Then we’ll quit!” Freed announces. “Without you, we’re-”

“What a pain you guys are.”

“What?”

“Can’t you just say goodbye?”

“Why are you trying to take all the responsibility on yourself?” Evergreen demands.

“That’s not the case,” Laxus tells them. “Unlike you, I don’t have any attachments left to the guild.” He looks over at Jaelyn. _‘Well, maybe one or two, but you can deal on your own, can’t you, blue? Little sister?’_

Jaelyn tilts her head and smiles softly. _‘I’ve done it for almost nineteen years. I’m sure I can do it for nineteen more if I have to.’_

Lavinia grins. _‘Don’t underestimate me, you neanderthal.’_

The Fantasia parade is as spectacular as it is every other year, and, in the midst of it all, Makarov throws his arm up into the night, thumb and pointer finger straight and his three other fingers curled against the palm facing towards his body. Every Fairy Tail Wizard atop the float mimics the motion, even Jaelyn and Lavinia, and, from her vantage point behind the Guild’s Master, she finds Laxus at the back of the crowd, covered in bandages and crying, no doubt remembering the first time he did it.

_‘You’re not a monster, Laxus, and you’re not a beast either. You’re nothing like me, so go out there and find yourself.’_


	23. 20 • Allied Forces

It’s been months since everything that happened at the Tower of Heaven and the Battle of Fairy Tail, and Lavinia was almost too quick to take a temporary leave of absence, heading to Bickslow’s family in Bosco with little warning. Jaelyn has lost almost all of Jellal’s memories, and hasn’t felt him in her mind since that day Natsu, Jellal and herself fought. Now more than ever, she wants her twin with her, and she also wants the familiar company of Laxus, Lavinia and Gray - maybe even Sting and Rogue, and Erik. Though, she has no doubt that she’ll be seeing the latter some time soon due to the disturbances the Oración Seis have been creating.

Staring up at the organisation chart of the Dark Guilds that Reedus drew with his _Pict Magic_, Jaelyn can’t help but feel sick at the amount of names she recognises, and the Guilds that she knows personally. Lines lead from the small, boxed names to three distinct large, circled names within an even larger circle, showing which of the Balam Alliance Guilds they are associated with and are controlled by. Two of the three names within that Alliance make her skin crawl and her head feel light, her hand slamming down onto a table at her sudden lack of balance.

“You alright?” Gajeel asks, standing behind her. “Ever since you came back from that blasted mission you’ve been… off. Your scent has changed as well. Something happenin’ to you?”

“I’m fine, Gajeel,” Jaelyn retorts, forcing herself to stay upright. “Don’t start getting sentimental and caring on me now. I don’t need Black Steel Gajeel worrying about me.”

“I’m not bein’ Black Steel Gajeel right now. Just Gajeel.”

“There’s still no need for you to worry.”

“Jaelyn. It’s Jellal, isn't it? Something happened at the Tower and now it’s messin’ with your head.”

“It’s just… I don’t have his memories anymore, and that worries me. I can’t feel him at all, Gaj. It’s like he’s dead.”

Before anything else can be said, Makarov returns from his regular meeting, and he appears to be in a somewhat foul mood. It seems to resonate throughout the Guild Hall, and every Wizard within its walls instantly turns their attention to their returned Master as he rants about everything that happened. To the shock of all except Jaelyn, he informs them that they will be facing off against the Oración Seis, as well as creating an alliance between four Guilds: Fairy Tail, Lamia Scale, Blue Pegasus, and Cait Shelter. It’s a bit of a rash move, but it’s probably the best that could have been decided on in a short amount of time.

Soon enough, Jaelyn and those dubbed as Fairy Tail’s Strongest Team - Team Natsu - are on their way to the villa belonging to the Master of Blue Pegasus, Master Bob, and it’s already an irritating adventure. The salmon-haired Fire Dragon Slayer keeps complaining about how long it’s taking, and the blonde Celestial Mage is complaining about something bad happening and why she’s being dragged along with the rest of them. Erza is quick to soothe Lucy, and also quick to silence Natsu’s complaints, much to the amusement of Gray.

“This is insane,” Jaelyn mutters. “Why am _I_ being dragged along on this? I’m not even part of this team… and we all know that I’m no good at keeping a level head when I’m fighting. This is going to be an utter nightmare, Gray.”

The Ice Mage smiles slightly at her. “Can’t disagree with you there. Don’t you know these guys?”

“They were all at the Tower of Heaven when we were kids, but I only really know their backstories in that case. Well, you could say that I know one of them better than the others, but that’s only because we’re both Slayers.”

“They have a Dragon Slayer in their Guild?!”

The Dark Dragon Slayer rolls her eyes. “There are four in Fairy Tail, five if you still count Laxus as part of the Guild, and you’re still surprised that there are more of us out there?”

Gray makes an agreeing sound. “Yeah, good point.”

Soon enough they reach the villa, and Jaelyn’s nose wrinkles at the stench of the Blue Pegasus Wizards that suddenly pop up out of nowhere; the Trimens: Hibiki, Eve and Ren. They immediately start doting on Lucy and Erza, but give Jaelyn a wide berth when she glares at them with black eyes, probably scaring them half to death. It only gets worse when Ichiya himself appears, and Erza instantly begins to tremble, not that Jaelyn can blame her after the past experiences they’ve had with the creepy man.

There’s a large ruckus that follows and Jaelyn huffs in irritation, leaning against a pillar and waiting for the arrival of Lamia Scale and Cait Shelter. It’s not long before a familiar scent wafts in through the open door, and it makes a growl resonate in the female Slayer’s chest. The last time she smelt it was on Galuna Island with what remained of Deliora, and that was a bad experience for every member of Fairy Tail present.

“This is quite the greeting,” Lyon mocks. “You consider yourselves equal to Lamia Scale?”

“Lyon?” Gray exclaims.

“Gray!”

“So you joined a guild?”

Gray and Lyon instantly begin to argue, and Jaelyn knows that there’s no stopping the idiots - much like when Gray and Natsu start their ceaseless bickering and fighting. Shelly Lendi walks in behind Lyon, which starts a whole new level of adoration from the Blue Pegasus Trimen, giving Jaelyn a further headache. Groaning, she almost gives up on not hurting anyone when Jura, one of the Ten Wizard Saints, appears in the doorway, giving her hope that this will all end soon.

“Cease this!” Jura barks. “We are making an alliance to defeat Oracion Seis! This is not the time to be fighting amongst ourselves!”

Silence, thankfully, follows, accompanied by awe from Gray and Natsu, as well as the Blue Pegasus Trimen. Jaelyn walks over to the lower Ranked Wizard Saint and smiles in welcome before she is pulled into a crushing hug from the taller man. None would think that she’s stronger than Jura due to their completely contrasting appearances and mannerisms, but, in actuality, she is Ranked Fifth out of the Ten Wizard Saints while he is Ranked Tenth. It’d shock many people into an early grave if they were to find out, so Jaelyn keeps it under wraps through using a well-known alias: the Dark Dragon.

“All that is left are the people from Cait Shelter,” Gray muses.

“People?” Lyon replies. “I have heard it is only one person.”

“One person? They only sent one person for a mission as dangerous as this?”

“Wait…” Natsu says. “How crazy dangerous is this guy?”

A small girl barrels in and trips over her own feet, falling on her face. “Owwy…”

Jaelyn smiles and walks over to the bluette, helping her up. “There you go, little one.”

“Um… I'm sorry I'm late. I'm Wendy Marvell, from Cait Shelter. It’s nice to meet you all.”

There’s a slight disturbance amongst the assembled Wizard’s, and Jaelyn knows that it’s due to Wendy’s young age. If she didn’t know the young girl from when she was 400 years in the past, she’s sure that she’d be in the exact same boat as the others. Seeing her again after at least a decade, well, it’s relieving, considering that a) she’s the same age as Sting and Rogue, and b) Wendy’s kind of a little sister to Jaelyn after the time they spent together.

“What's the matter, Natsu?” Gray asks.

“Wendy…” Natsu sniffs, obviously recognising her scent. “I know I've heard that name before, I think…”

“You know the girl?”

“Can you remember for me?”

“Hell no!”

“So, who was it again?”

“Give me a break here.”


	24. 21 • Oración Seis - X784

A cold chill washes over Jaelyn and she shivers, running her hands up and down her scarred arms in an attempt to chase the unnerving feeling away. Something ominous is lurking in the air, and it’s making her feel uneasy, a feeling that’s unfamiliar and disturbing in itself to her. There’s also a strange tugging sensation in the back of her mind, trying to lead her away from the twelve other people around her - well, twelve people and two flying cats, that is.

“As it seems we are all here, I will go ahead and explain the plan,” Hibiki says, his Archive Magic allowing him to bring up several screens around the room for all to see. “I will start with the place where the Six Wizard Generals, Oración Seis, are gathering.” A certain screen grows larger. “The Worth Woodsea spreads out from here to the north. Ancient people sealed an extremely powerful Magic Spell inside the Woodsea. Its name is Nirvana.”

“Nirvana?” Lyon muses. “I have never heard of it. What about you, Jura?”

“No,” the Wizard Saint replies. “I know not of it.”

Jaelyn hums. “It's sort of Destruction Magic, and it’s powerful enough for the ancients to have sealed it away. It can change a person’s allegiance if their soul is corrupt or indecisive, so try not to let yourself be put off out there.

“Destruction Magic?” Lucy says worriedly. “I don't like the sound of that…”

“The reason that Oración Seis has gathered in the Woodsea must be to get their hands on Nirvana,” Jura says. “And, in order for us to stop them, we will attack Oración Seis!”

“We have 13 on our side,” Natsu complains. “They have 6.” 

“But we can't underestimate them,” Hibiki rebukes, bringing up six more screens, this time with images of the members of the Dark Guild on them. “Those six are all incredibly powerful. These are videos of them we finally obtained recently. The Wizard who uses poisonous snakes, Cobra.”

Jaelyn smiles softly at the footage that is shown, watching as the Poison Dragon Slayer fights alongside his snake, Cubellios. Honestly, she misses the days before they were both dragged into Dark Guilds; the days where they weren’t abused or tortured, and they were able to just be kids - or as much of kids as they could be in that utter hellhole.

“Ooh, he looks like a real bad guy!” Natsu exclaims. “Look at those slanted eyes!”

“You're eyes are the same!” Gray retorts, briefly looking over at Jaelyn, his brow furrowing when he sees her expression.

The Archive Mage smiles slightly. “Thought to use Speed Magic, like his name implies, Racer.” 

Hibiki brings up the most recent photo of Sawyer, and Jaelyn’s lips curl into a bigger smile, but there’s an edge to it. They’re wrong about the kind of Magic he uses, but she isn't one to snitch - even if it’s to give her “allies” a better chance at stopping the Oración Seis from obtaining the malicious Power of Nirvana. If she still knew where it was, she’d be out there destroying it already.

“He's a Wizard that can even wipe out an entire military unit, and will if there's profit in it,” Hibiki mutters, bringing up footage of another Seis member, this one of Richard. “Hot Eye of the Heavenly Eye!” The next lot is of Sorano. “The woman said to peer into your heart, Angel.”

“I think I might be naturally weak against someone like that,” one of the males says in awe.

“We don't have much information about this guy, but he's called Midnight.”

“Midnight?” Lucy says. “That name doesn't bode well.”

“Then, the control centre for them all, Brain.” The final image shows up and Jaelyn has to bite back a snarl at the white-haired man, startling Hibiki. “Each of them holds Magical Power great enough to destroy an entire Guild. That's why we'll use our numbers to our advantage.”

“Um, I think it might be best if you didn't count me,” Wendy says. “I'm also not very good at fighting!”

“Wendy,” Carla chastises. “Stop being so weak!”

“Hey, what should we do?”

“They aren't counting us! Do not worry! Our plan does not simply involve fighting.”

Jaelyn huffs and makes her way to the door of Master Bob’s villa, staring out into the afternoon doused forest, wishing this stupid briefing was already over. With the idiots behind her talking about Blue Pegasus’ Christina, it’s as though they’re talking about a toy that’s about to be taken from a child, and it irritates her to no end. Before she can say anything about it, Natsu barrels past her, almost knocking her to the ground, and he’s quickly followed by the other Fairy Tail members, Gray grabbing Jaelyn’s wrist and dragging her along with him.

Before she can barely blink, they’re near a cliff, and the others soon catch up to them, complaining that they were left behind. However, Jaelyn does not see either Ichiya or Jura with them, and she knows that the Oración Seis have already begun their attack without any difficulties. It’s not long before the flying pegasus ship, Christina, is above them, but it’s quickly shot down and several ominous Magic sources move towards the assembled Wizards, causing unease amongst them.

“The maggots have swarmed,” Sawyer muses. “We saw through your plans. We already got Jura and Ichiya!”

“You're trembling,” Erik growls. “I can hear it. We should hurry up with our work, but you are getting in our way.”

Before long, the dubbed “allied forces” are divided and fighting their own battles, Jaelyn sticking with Erza in order to have a chance to talk with Erik before shit hits the fan and she has no chance to see the friend she has barely spoken to for years. Truth be told, she’s actually looking forward to seeing this fight because they’re pretty evenly matched for a Second Generation Dragon Slayer who’s in the Balam Alliance and a Requip Mage from Fairy Tail.

Standing on the ground and watching the sky, Jaelyn is able to watch as the contrasting Wizards clash. It’s entertaining because Erik is able to hear every movement Erza is going to make before she makes it, and the outcome has already been decided before the first hit. Watching him torment and tease her is a fight in itself, and it’s a one-sided one, just as the real fight itself is. Jaelyn can’t help but grin at the two.

“Requip!”

“I can hear you.”

“Forward, my blades!” Her attack is easily dodged.  _ ‘What? He read and dodged that many swords? Damn it…’ _ She Requips and goes to attack him. “Requip! Soaring Armor!” 

“Ooh, you're quick!” Erik says with delight, winking down at Jaelyn as he continues to tease the red-headed girl. “Fast is good! But I can hear it, Titania… Your next move, that is!”

“I knew it, he's predicting me…”

“Predicting? No I told you, I can hear you.” So this is Erza Scarlet? I can hear your movements… Your breathing… The contraction and expansion of your muscles… Your very thoughts, even I see… You're also… You're open! I saw it, yes!”

“Cobra, what are you waiting for?” one of the Oración Seis complains.

“Cubellios!” On command, the giant purple snake strikes, biting Erza. “Cubellios' poison doesn't take effect immediately. It lets you live for a while in pain!”

Erza collapses shortly after, the poison beginning to take effect in her body, and Jaelyn clicks her tongue in disappointment, having thought that she would have been able to hold her own for longer than a few minutes. Looking up at Erik, she smiles as the male steps off Cubellios and makes his way over to her, allowing her to pull him into a brief hug before shrugging her off and grinning at her.

“Didn’t think I’d see you here, blueberry,” Erik teases. “What are you doing with the Fairies?”

Jaelyn chuckles and grins at the other Slayer. “Oh, you know, tearing them down from inside.”

“You fell in love with one of them, but now you’re friends with him. How amusing. Oh, and there’s another, and his little sister.” His purple eyes widen slightly. “Other Dragon Slayers? Interesting.”

“You can give me hell about it later. I want to know what you’re planning with Nirvana, Erik.”

“Oh, this and that. Why? Interested?”

“In destroying it, yes. As much as I trust you, snake boy, I don’t trust Brain, or Zero, with the control of such a weapon.” Jaelyn sighs at the expression on his face. “You know why that is, don’t you?”

Erik grunts in agreement. “Yeah, I know what you mean, Jaelyn. I’m not so sure about it either, but it’s what we’ve got to do. You know what, come with me. I wanna show you something.”

She follows him to Cubellios and slowly climbs onto the giant snake’s scaled body, her hand instinctively clamped onto Erik’s to prevent herself from falling if needs be. He grins at her as they fly up into the sky and head deep into the Worth Woodsea Forest, towards a small canyon filled with a small island and a lake, a cave carved into the outer walls. That seems to be their destination as Cubellios flies down to it and Erik climbs off, helping Jaelyn down.

They walk into the cave and find Brain, Midnight, Richard, Sorano and Sawyer surrounding a terrified Wendy and Happy. Upon Jaelyn’s arrival, the latter two look up in surprise, Happy gaining a betrayed look in his eyes when he sees her with Erik, which she doesn’t even bother to try to explain to the Exceed, instead rolling her eyes and shaking her head.


	25. 22 • Revive Him, Sky Maiden

“This is a place which used to be a city of the ancients. It is said they performed rituals in these caves by shutting Shrine Maidens inside, where they would hear the voices of the gods,” Brain regales to Wendy. “However, now it is being used by Oración Seis as their base of operations.”

Jaelyn rolls her eyes as she listens to Erik, Sorano, Sawyer and Richard talk about Wendy as if she’s nothing more than a means to an end, and she can’t help but feel sorry for the young girl. She’s only twelve years old, and she’s about to be forced to bring back someone who she may not know, or someone she knows and does not care for. Jaelyn does not wish for their positions to be reversed, instead she wishes that it were someone else faced with this ultimatum.

Brain cackles. “We will resurrect him!”

“Resurrect who?” Happy demands. 

Wendy shakes her head. “I don't really know, but I'm not going to help bad people!”

“Oh, you will. You will indeed. You will resurrect him for us,” Brain growls. “Racer, bring him here.”

“That's a long way,” Sawyer replies. “It'll take even  _ me _ an hour.”

“No matter.”

“I see. If we resurrect him, Nirvana is as good as found. Is that what you're thinking, Brain?”

“Cobra, Hot Eye, Angel. Continue to search for Nirvana.”

“But if we resurrect him, that won't be necessary,” Sorano mutters.

“I asked you a question,” Happy yells. “Who are you trying to revive?”

“And just in case, Midnight and I will remain here,” Brain continues as if uninterrupted.

“It doesn't like like Mid's going to do anything, though,” Erik laughs.

Sawyer speeds out of the cave, making a direct beeline for whoever the Oración Seis are planning to revive, and Jaelyn has a partial mind to stop him, but something tells her to let the Slow Magic user get the person before she acts. That tugging in her mind has turned into a full on dragging sensation, and it’s beginning to reach the irritating stage, but she has a feeling that she’s not going to have to wait long to find out why it is that she has that sensation.

Erik gives Jaelyn a quick glance before following Sorano and Richard out of the cave, climbing atop Cubellios and flying off to fight the “allied forces,” leaving her alone with another Dark Mage, a Sky Dragon Slayer and an annoying Exceed. She looks over at Brain, narrowing her eyes in apprehension, and he shudders under her malicious gaze, which tells her that this man has something to hide. Something tells her that he knows more than what he’s letting on, and that makes her trust him even less.

“What kind of Magic is Nirvana?” Wendy hesitantly asks.

“Magic that switches Darkness for Light,” Brain replies.

“Light and Darkness? I don't understand at all…”

No more than an hour later, Sawyer runs back in through the cave entrance, a strangely shaped coffin on his back, and Jaelyn winces at the piercing sound that fills her ears before hurrying over to take the coffin from the Mage. Every instinct in her body is telling her not to trust anyone with the black and blue cross-shaped coffin, and she’s obliged to trust those instincts.

“Seriously… This took longer than I thought,” Sawyer groans. “I couldn't get any speed with something this heavy.”

“Don't be so hard on yourself,” Brain admonishes. “No one is faster than you.”

Wendy’s eyes widen in horror. “That's a coffin!”

“Wendy, you're going to heal this man for me.”

“I will do no such thing!”

“Yes, that's right,” Happy declares in agreement.

“Oh, you will heal him. You must.”

Brain rips the front off the coffin and Jaelyn’s chest feels as though it collapses in on itself. Her heart beats painfully and her lungs feel like they’ve shrunk to nearly a quarter of their usual size. Her steps are halting as she walks over to the box, and her hand is trembling as she reaches for his face. The skin-on-skin contact makes her begin to cry, her throat tightening and her eyes burning with no remorse, and her legs threaten to give out beneath her.

Jaelyn’s fingers lightly brush over the tattoo on her twins’ face, wishing that he would open his eyes and tell her that everything is alright. Without him, her mind has started to warp and her memories have become vicious or completely lost to her, and her Magic hasn’t been working like it’s meant to. Without him, she feels alone and abandoned in a world of monsters and beasts, and she feels weak and small and vulnerable even before those that are weaker than her. Without him, there’s an endless void threatening to swallow her whole. Without him, her transformation has reached the point that she has to wear bandages up her arms and around her neck to hide the onyx scales.

“This is Jellal,” Brain informs. “He had at one time infiltrated the Council.”

“No…” Wendy whispers in disbelief. “No!”

“In other words, he's someone who knows where Nirvana is.”

“Why is Jellal here?”

“Jellal…” Happy says. “That Jellal?”

“You know Jellal too, Happy?”

“Know him? That guy tried to kill Erza and everyone else! And he used the Council to fire Etherion!” Happy glares over at Jaelyn. “Him and Jaelyn both!”

“Yeah I heard about that…” Wendy admits, her brown eyes still staring at Jellal with disbelief.

“You’re still alive,” Jaelyn murmurs. “Oh, thank fuck…”

“He was bathed in Ethernano and became like this, but he is not actually dead, you see,” Brain informs, his gaze turning slightly sympathetic at Jaelyn’s state before hardening once it returns to Wendy and Happy. “You are the only one who can return him to the way he was. This man saved your life, did he not? This man is a ghost, haunted by ghosts, a wretched idealist, but you owe him your life.”

“Life?” Happy asks. “What does he mean?”

“Now, hurry and resurrect this man.”

“Don't! Whatever you do, don't resurrect that guy! Wendy… Wendy!”

“If you do not resurrect him…”

“Stop it,” Wendy pleads as Brain goes to hurt Happy. “Please… Don't…”

“Cure him,” Brain orders. “It should be simple for you.”

“Jellal is a bad guy,” Happy argues, pleading with Wendy. “He's gonna steal Nirvana!”

“Even so, I was saved by him. He was dear to me,” Wendy defends. “I heard rumors that he did bad things… but I don't believe them!”

Jaelyn’s brow furrows. There’s no way that her twin saved this girl’s life, which means that it must have been the Jellal from Edolas that saved her, not Earth Land’s Jellal.

“What are you saying?” Happy asks in a small voice. “We were right there when…”

“Jellal would never do things like that,” Wendy snaps. “And neither would Jaelyn!”

“Wendy… Please…”

“Give me some time to think.”

“Don't do this, Wendy…”

“As you wish,” Brain agrees. “You have 5 minutes.”

Time could never go slower in Jaelyn’s opinion. Removing Jellal from his bindings and the coffin, she lays him on the cave floor, cradling his head in her lap and brushing the matching cobalt locks from his face, smiling down at his peaceful face. This is the Jellal she remembers from the early years of their childhood; the one that would sleep until he could sleep no more, and the one who would do absolutely anything for her. Without Ultear’s influence, she hopes that’s the Jellal that wakes up in this body once Wendy heals him.

“It is time,” Brain informs.

“Don't do it, Wendy!” Happy pleads.

“The Lost Magic, Healing Magic… If you won't use it now, when would you? Do it!”

Jaelyn turns her blazing eyes to the Sky Dragon Slayer, startling the younger girl. “You bring my brother back, or so help me, Wendy Marvell, you’re going to have hell to pay! I will not suffer another day without having him in my head! It’s pure fucking agony!”

Wendy stares at the comatose man. “Jellal…”

The Dark Dragon Slayer watches as the Sky Dragon Slayer gets up and walks over, kneeling beside the Fernandes twins and holding her hands over Jellal’s body. A beautiful light surrounds the young girl, her long, dark blue hair whipping around her head as her Magic begins to do its work. Jaelyn turns her attention back to her twin, smiling when she sees his eyes scrunch slightly before opening slowly, a confused and dazed look in his dark green eyes. There’s a flash of something akin to recognition in them, but there’s still the confusion that makes her worry about him.

His consciousness works its way back into her mind and she lets out a shaking breath, her eyes briefly closing as relief surges, unbound, through her body. Still, there’s something strange about it. There’s barely any memories in his mind, and that’s more heartbreaking than losing him in the first place. She fights back further tears and instead smiles through the ones already in her eyes.

“Hey, big brother,” Jaelyn murmurs softly. “Welcome back to the world of the living.”

“What…?” Jellal’s words are thick and slow.

“You’re alright. It’s me, Jaelyn.” She swallows. “I know you don’t remember much, and that’s alright.”

He mumbles something unintelligible. “Jae…”

“I’m here.”

“Stop… Nirvana…”

“I know. We have to do it quickly.”

“Mmm…”

The second Wendy collapses from overuse of her Magic, Jellal springs up and attacks Brain, Jaelyn by his side. It’s not hard to overpower the leader of the Oración Seis, and it’s not hard to make their way out of the canyon type thing in the middle of the woodsea. Despite Jellal not really remembering anything, he can’t not trust Jaelyn, and she’s glad for that, because, right now, they need to do everything in their power to stop the Oración Seis and destroy Nirvana.


	26. 23 • The Darkness at Midnight

The walk through the Woodsea is quiet, and there’s an air of unease about the Fernandes twins as they make their way to where Nirvana is currently being sealed. Only one of them is aware that they’re being followed by more than one person, and, while it’s unnerving that her brother currently has no sense of self-preservation, she can’t exactly blame him due to there being no memories in his mind. Still, with their minds connected like they are, he should be able to see their mutual past.

Jaelyn catches Erik’s thoughts, and it’s as if he’s projecting them to her. _‘Hmm… I can't hear this guy's thoughts. If only I could hear his thoughts, I wouldn't have to follow him like this. I wish you weren’t blocking me out now, Jae.’_

_‘You shouldn’t be following us anyway, Erik. Trust me when I say that you want nothing to do with Nirvana.’_

_‘Like that’s going to work on me, blueberry. I’m not so easily deterred.’_

_‘What’s coming is not going to be of any good to anyone here - Light or Dark. Nirvana is going to be the death of so many people; it’s indiscriminate. There’s a chance it will kill you too, especially with someone like Brain controlling all of this.’_

Jellal slows to a stop, Jaelyn stepping up beside her older twin and taking his hand in hers. They close their eyes and chant the needed spell, light coloured Magic Circles decorating the dirt beneath their feet and a larger one appearing in front of them. Light only seeps from the giant Magic Circle at first, but, soon enough, there’s a giant black pillar beaming up into the sky, the seal to Nirvana broken by two Mages with only the intention to destroy such a devastating weapon.

Opening her eyes, she stares up at the seemingly harmless pillar of light, but she knows that it’s already begun to sway the allegiances of the Wizards - even without being unsealed to this extent. She wants to put up a fight when Jellal puts a Magic _Circle of Self-Destruction_ on both the pillar and himself, and, by extension, Jaelyn herself, but it’s probably the best thing to do at a time like this. Two murderers and Dark Mages dying to save the world that turned them into such things is nothing to cry about, in fact, she’s not sure anyone would truly mourn her if she died - especially if they knew half the things she’d done just because she felt like it.

Call her full of angst or whatever, but Jaelyn’s mind is set firm in her beliefs of such things. After all, who could ever love a monster - a _Demon_ \- that’s ugly inside and out? True, she can put up a front and pretend like everything is alright and she’s not screaming for the death she equally deserves and craves, but that’s all it is: a front with no true backing or force behind it, but just enough manipulation and falseness to allow her to live a life she has no place in.

The voice of Erza rings out, destroying the silence. “Jellal… and Jaelyn?”

“Erza,” Jellal says, the name coming out as a prayer of sorts.

“Why are you here?”

“I don't know. Erza… Erza… I don't remember anything except that word. Will you tell me? Who am I? Do you know?” His hands fly to his head and Jaelyn winces at the pain stabbing within its confines. “Who is Erza? I can't remember anything!”

_‘He's lost all his memories?’_ Jaelyn hears Erik say in disbelief.

“Jellal…” Erza shakes her head and steadies herself. “Your name is Jellal. You were once my friend.”

Jellal’s dark eyes move to the younger girl. “Friend?”

“But you and your sister went mad, desecrated the dead, hurt your friends, and even destroyed the Magic Council. You killed Simon. If you… If you are trying to say you forgot that, then I will thrust a blade into your chest and engrave it into your heart!”

The Requip Mage barely gets close enough to strike the Heavenly Body Mage with one of her swords before she runs into the _Hexagon Barrier_ erected by the Dark Dragon Slayer. Erza’s eyes are beyond pained, and one can barely blame her after everything she’s been through with both Jellal and Jaelyn, but the latter will not stand for anyone hurting her brother, whether she’s present or not. Last time she was too slow, but she’s ready this time, and she’s not going down without a damned fight. It’s going to be one hell of a one-sided fight, but there’s no way Jaelyn’s going to go easy on the other S-Class Wizard.

“Okay, I get that you don't remember anything,” Erik declares, walking over to the three and cutting through the tension surrounding them. “No wonder I wasn't able to hear your thoughts at all.”

Erza turns her blades towards the Poison Dragon Slayer. “Oración Seis! How'd you manage to get here?”

“You always know how to make some stupid entrance,” Jaelyn teases the older man. “You’re never going to quit, are you, snake boy?”

Erik chuckles. “You got that right, blueberry.”

Erza’s her next question is directed at the twins, continuing on as if neither Jaelyn or Erik had spoken. “And why did you unlock Nirvana's seal?”

“I heard someone's voice while I was asleep. It said, "We are going to obtain Nirvana." I dimly remembered the place where that Magic was hidden.” Jellal shakes his head and sighs. “This is a dangerous Magic. It can't fall into anyone's hands. And that's why we released the seal… To destroy it completely.”

“To destroy Nirvana?”

“We've already set up the _Magic Circle of Self-Destruction_. Nirvana will shortly destroy itself.”

“What the heck is this high-level Magic Circle?” Erik demands, purple eyes disbelieving. “At this rate, Nirvana will be destroyed!”

“Jellal! Jaelyn!” Erza growls. “Spit out the cancellation code!”

“Erza… I can feel the kindness from that name I can feel kindness, cheerfulness, and warmth.” Jellal smiles softly. “I'm sure you'll continue to hate me - hate us - but I can't help that. It's only natural, but hatred will steal the freedom from your heart. It will eat away at you from within.”

“You… He's…” The voices of Erik and Erza mix together as they voice their disbelief.

“You will be free from Jellal and myself,” Jaelyn informs with a somewhat sad and relieved smile. “We will take your hatred and sadness with us.”

Erik’s eyes widen in horror. “You’ve attached a _Magic Circle of Self-Destruction_ to your bodies?! Think about this, blueberry. No more Gray, and no more Laxus and Lavinia. No more of those little Slayers you call your brothers. No more Gajeel, or Wendy. No more _me_.”

“After everything, I’m so tired, Erik. So bloody tired. Nineteen years of hell to die saving this pathetic world? To die saving everyone you just mentioned? It’s the most I can do to pay for everyone I’ve hurt or killed because of orders or just because I wanted to.”

The _Self-Destruction Magic_ begins to take its toll on the cobalt-haired Mages, and they can feel themselves weakening as the Spell grows stronger and more destructive by the second; unable to be stopped by anyone but themselves or someone else who knows the Magic. A wave of exhaustion washes over the Fernandes twin’s and Jaelyn’s legs crumple beneath her, sending her to the hard ground, or, at least, that’s where she should be. Instead, she’s in a pair of familiar arms, and the familiar scent calms her fleeting heart.

“Jellal! Jaelyn!” Erza exclaims as she darts forward and catches Jellal, and it’s almost pure agony.

“Don’t scare me like that, blueberry,” Erik berates the younger girl, pulling her upright and letting her lean against him so she doesn’t fall again. “Stop this before you leave that man you love to mourn your death; leave us all to mourn you.”

Jaelyn laughs. “As if any of you can mourn me. Six Mages know absolutely everything about me, and one of them will die alongside me knowing nothing. The rest of you won’t mourn a Demon.”

“So you're gonna take the cancellation code for the Magic Circles to the grave with you?” Erza demands. “I will not allow it! I won't allow you both to die like this! You have sins to repent for! Remember! Do you think you'll be at peace knowing nothing? Live, and struggle! Jellal!”

“Erza,” Jellal says, bewildered at her state. “Why are you crying? You are so kind.”

“Jellal! You have to stay awake!”

“What is the meaning of this?” Brain demands, making a weak Jaelyn snarl.

“Brain,” Erik says as a greeting.

“A _Self-Destruction Magic Circle_?”

“Jellal constructed it, that bastard! This is bad! At this rate, we'll have finally found Nirvana only to see it destroyed!”

As Brain and Erik talk, Jaelyn’s mind brings forth the memory of Brain teaching Jellal how to use this Magic, and it’s the one time since they were taken to the Tower of Heaven that Jellal felt as though he had any sort of father. It’s something both twins never really had much of with their biological father being quite the deadbeat who didn’t really care whether his children lived or died on his watch. Their mother was a different story, and that’s what got the woman killed when the Cult of Zeref came knocking.

The sudden removal of the _Self-Destruction Magic _from her body brings her back to the present just in time to see Brain standing before the pillar of black light, arms raised as he summons forth NIrvana. The ground groans and quakes beneath everyone, and it’s all they can do to hold onto one another. Erik debates for a second before shoving Jaelyn over to Jellal and Erza, and she sees why when the ground raises and her stomach flips, threatening to empty itself.

They become separated, and it’s not for lack of Jaelyn trying to stay with the Second Generation Poison Dragon Slayer. She cries out and reaches for him, only to be ripped away by Nirvana growing larger and larger, the ruins of an ancient city rising up around them on the main body as six, gigantic legs sprout from it. Gritting her teeth, Jaelyn manages to climb to her feet once the beast machine stops rising, but her stomach quickly rebels when it begins to slowly move forward. Clutching at it, her hand slams against one of the houses as she attempts to steady herself, but it’s no use; it’s still moving.

“This is fucking perfect,” she groans, falling to the ground. “Drained Magic and now a fucking moving destruction machine. I need a damn Spell right about now, Sky Maiden.”

“Jellal,” Erza calls, shaking the man. “Come on. Wake up.”

“He’s awake, Erza. Just trying to get his bearings like the rest of us on this lump of rock and Magic. He’s probably getting the tail end of my damned motion sickness and feels too shit to move.”

“We’re not safe here. We have to get somewhere safe.”

“We’re on a fucking destruction machine… There’s no such thing as “safe” right now!”

Despite her sickness and complaints, Jaelyn helps Erza help Jellal up until he’s able to stand on his own and they begin to make their way through the ancient city. It’s dark and abandoned, and the perfect place to lay a trap or ambush in Jaelyn’s opinion. Sharing a look with her twin, she knows that, despite him having no memories right now, Jellal is feeling the exact same thing as she is, and he’s on the look out for any kind of attack or battle.

However, neither of them could have predicted coming face-to-face with Midnight and his pesky _Reflector_ _Magic_, but here he was, standing in the street as if he was waiting for them. The expression on his face tells Jaelyn all that she needs to know: Erik has been beaten and another of the seals keeping Zero locked away has been broken. Midnight’s the only one remaining, and that means it’s only his seal keeping a malicious asshole from taking control of Brain’s body.

The thought of fighting him makes Jaelyn’s lips curl into a delighted smirk, but the same can’t be said for Jellal, who looks slightly worried. She can’t blame him after getting practically beaten down by Midnight in a matter of seconds, leaving Erza the only one of the three capable of beating the Mage. Jellal used up more Magic than any of them thought by casting that _Self-Destruction Magic_, and he seems to have forgotten how to use Jaelyn’s Magic. No, that’s not it… It’s that he doesn’t appear to have control of just how much Magic he puts into a Spell in his state, and he poured almost all of their combined Magic into the _Self-Destruction Magic_, making it deadlier and more potent than she thought.

Cradling Jellal’s head in her lap for the second time that day, Jaelyn watches as Erza relentlessly attacks Midnight, trying to understand how his _Reflector Magic_ works and how to beat him by using her own Magic in response. As Erza’s thrown back again, Jaelyn rolls her eyes as Midnight goes off on a rant about the link between Cait Shelter and the ancient Nirvit people that both created and locked away Nirvana once they realised Nirvana was a far more dangerous magic than they predicted.

That topic is quickly thrown to the side once Jellal climbs to his feet and berates Midnight for the Oración Seis’ plan, the latter quick to fire back. He informs the amnesiac of all the horrible things he’s done: forced children into slave labour, killed friends, tried to kill Erza, caused countless people to suffer, and made people frightened, threatened and cry. Jaelyn is quick to throw the unsuspecting Reflector Mage back a few steps with her _Telekinesis_, but he quickly warps the Magic and regains his footing, smirking.

“Listen to me, Jellal,” Jaelyn orders, standing and forcing her older brother to meet her eyes. “It wasn’t just you that did all of that. Even if you don’t have your memories, because of our link, you can see mine, and you can see that you’re not alone in your faults.”

“I hurt people,” Jellal says, pained.

“It wasn’t your fault. You were being controlled. I can’t say the same for myself, but you were being controlled by a vicious Mage from Grimoire Heart. It doesn’t belittle your crimes, or really give a believable excuse, but it’s the reason why you did everything you did.”

“Jaelyn…”


	27. 24 • Illusions at the Darkest Hour

Despite her wounds and previous, fruitless attempts, Erza climbs to her feet and continues to fight Midnight. It’s not a pretty sight, but it’s a fight that must be won no matter what. While Jaelyn and Jellal are left as mere spectators, their childhood friend continues her relentless attack, Requipping into a more comfortable armour, confusing the Dragon Slayer in their midst. Once Erza manages to land a hit on Midnight, Jaelyn understands why she did such a thing with her armour.

Midnight’s red eyes are wide in disbelief. “W-What?”

“There are two,” Erza declares. “There are two weaknesses to your Magic.”

“Two weaknesses?” Jellal says in shock. “In just a short time, she…”

“Weakness number 1: You may be able to bend magic and objects, but you are unable to bend Human bodies. If that were not the case, it would have been faster to warp my body than my armour. Am I right?”

“So, what of it?” Midnight dismisses, ever the flippant and uncaring Reflector Mage. “Even if that's the case, if I'm being serious, I can finish you off with your clothes.”

“The second weakness: This!”

“Erza, what are you…” Jellal’s words are cut short when Erza lands an attack on Midnight. He blinks in shock, trying to comprehend what he’s seen. “But he said that attacks won't hit him!”

“While you were bending my armour, you dodged my sword normally! Why didn't you bend the path of the sword instead? The answer: Because you can only bend things in one limited area at a time. The area around yourself, or the area around your enemy,” Erza declares. “You must choose one or the other. While you are casting your Magic on me, you cannot activate Reflector around yourself.”

“What incredible battle perception!”

“And this, my Robe of Remoteness, is flexible armour! Your Magic will not work!”

“Oh?” Midnight muses.

“I guess if you include this armour, that's three weaknesses.” Before she can land another attack, a bell rings, signalling the end to this fight, and Midnight is able to avoid it. “Damn it! I was so close!”

“This fight is over. You will surrender without trouble now, yes?” The bell continues to ring and Midnight smirks. “It is already midnight. It is too late. If you had let me finish you sooner, you could have slept peacefully. You could have escaped facing the fear!”

Jaelyn tightly takes hold of Jellal’s hand as darkness encompasses them both, Erza gripping her weapon tighter and her dark eyes trained on the even darker man before her. He warns them not to blame him for what’s to come, a crushing sensation bearing down on the Fernandes twins and the girl with the last name of Scarlet, given by Jellal himself. Following the powerful sensation, a malevolent Magic surrounds the three Mages, putting both Jellal and Erza on edge and making Jaelyn suck in a sharp breath through clenched teeth.

“Jellal and Jaelyn. Your rule was all a lie,” Midnight accuses the Heavenly Body Mage and Dark Dragon Slayer. “There was no freedom in the Tower of Heaven. After the uprising, I was so scared every night I couldn't sleep!” He turns his rage towards the Requip Mage when she makes a revelation. “This is also your sin, Titania! You averted your eyes for eight years from the suffering of your brethren. And now, at the end, you stand together with Jellal and Jaelyn, who should be the root of your hatred! For the people who lost their lives for you, it is truly a nightmare. Don't you think? Grandpa Rob! Simon! They are your sins. You are their nightmare!”

“You fiend!” Erza roars.

Jaelyn realises what he’s going to do, but too late. “Erza, no!”

Erza goes to strike Midnight, but, in his place, are Jellal and Jaelyn. The sword pierces through Jellal’s abdomen, blood coughed out of his mouth barely a handful of seconds later. Similarly, Jaelyn gains the same gaping wound and her eyes blow wide in pain, her hands clamping down on the bloodied patch of skin in an attempt to staunch the blood flow, blood flooding her mouth and dripping down from her parted lips to her chin, and then onto her dark clothes.

“Whoa, there,” Midnight mocks. “That's pretty cruel. You laid hands on your allies.”

“Why, you…” Erza growls.

“Yes. That's for the best. Jellal and Jaelyn, both done in by your hands. The man who betrayed you, and the girl who has told you nothing but lies.”

“Villain!”

“Erza!” Jellal yells, Jaelyn watching, horrified, as Erza continues her attempts to attack Midnight.

“But wait!” the remaining Oración Seis member laughs. “Midnight's just begun, and there's still much more fun!”

The darkness morphs before the Fernandes twins’ very eyes, and Midnight changes along with it. His body warps and grows grotesque, a feral look appearing in the Mage’s eyes, and a malicious grin growing on what now appears to be his face. Jellal stares up at the Reflector Mage with horror, and Jaelyn, despite knowing that it’s nothing more than an illusion, can’t fight off her instinct to throw herself in front of her twin and erect another  _ Hexagon Barrier _ despite the small amount of Magic remaining between the twins.

However, the illusion is quick to be shattered, leaving Jaelyn struggling to stand after using Magic they didn’t particularly have, and leaving Jellal frozen on the ground behind her. Erza stands not too far from them, a spear clutched in her hands and a ferocious look on her face and in her brown eyes.

“W-What happened?” Jellal exclaims in shock. “I saw him transform into a giant…”

“My illusion didn't work?!” Midnight demands.

“Illusion? Did what I saw all happen while the bell was still ringing?”

“Sorry, but Magic that affects the eyes doesn't work on me,” Erza snarks at Midnight.

“B-But that's… I was the most powerful.” Midnight is in complete shock. “I had surpassed my father; I was the strongest of the Six Demons. I couldn't lose to anyone! The most powerful Wizard…”

“As long as you laugh at people's suffering, that goal will remain far out of reach.”

“My prayer I just wanted to be able to sleep, in a quiet place…”

“This is Erza,” Jellal murmurs in disbelief.

“Yes,” Jaelyn agrees. “She is quite formidable when protecting those she cares about.”

“If you never want to be defeated, you must first know your own weaknesses,” Erza tells Midnight with a small smile. “And also always be kind.”

Leaving Midnight behind, Jaelyn carries Jellal, with the help of Erza, somewhere far enough away from the defeated Mage. It’s really the best thing they can do, because, when the Reflector Mage is able to stand and use his Magic again, they’re going to have no chance of defeating him yet again with how weak both Jaelyn and Jellal are, and with how much Magic Erza is going to need in order for her and the remainder of the Alliance to stop Nirvana before it destroys Cait Shelter.

“Does it hurt?” Erza asks, eyeing Jaelyn patching up Jellal’s abdomen after finishing her own.

“No, I'm fine,” Jellal dismisses, wincing slightly when Jaelyn purposely puts pressure on the wound at his lie. “I apologise. I was in too much of a hurry to stop Nirvana.”

“That wound, and the fact you'd used up nearly all your Magic Power… You were barely even able to stand, weren't you, Jellal?”

“No, it's okay. It doesn't change the fact that it was Jaelyn and myself who undid the seal on Nirvana. We must hurry and stop it.”


	28. 25 • Once an Angel, Now a Fallen

With Nirvana still moving, Jaelyn is finding it hard to keep her stomach from revolting and emptying without her allowance. Latching onto Jellal as she begins to fall back to the ground of the ancient city, a strange, choked gulping sound leaves her throat as she attempts to swallow down the rising acid. The Heavenly Body Mage wraps his arm around her shoulders and rubs her upper arm, right above the Guild Mark she keeps hidden under her skin-tight black sleeves.

If Jellal had his memories, there’d be no way he’d go anywhere  _ near _ that part of her arm - or probably anywhere near her arms or back. Still, even without those memories, the arm around her isn't tight in any way, and it feels as though he’s prepared to remove it at any time, and that gives her some hope that he hasn’t completely forgotten everything. Seeing that, without him knowing the reasons behind why she’s not exactly leaning into his touch, she’s never realised how caring and loving he could be.

“That's him!” Jaelyn hears Wendy yell. “Jellal!”

Erza looks up and sees Wendy and Carla flying down to them. “Wendy! You're safe? I'm glad.”

The Sky Dragon Slayer lands and rushes over to them. “Yes. Jellal…”

“Who are you?” Jellal asks, clearly confused at the young girl before him.

“I knew it… He forgot…”

“Jellal's memories are all jumbled up right now,” Jaelyn murmurs.

“He doesn't seem to remember about you, or me,” Erza informs.

“Memories?” Wendy mumbles sadly. “I see…”

“Wendy Marvell?” Jellal muses, rolling her name over his tongue, as if trying to figure out whether or not the name sounds familiar or not. “Did we know each other?”

“Please don't tell me you've also forgotten how to stop Nirvana.”

“W-Well… A  _ Self-Destruction Magic Circle  _ will no longer work. I don't know of any other way. I apologise.”

“Hey, uh, Wendy,” Jaelyn calls, swallowing yet again. “I normally don’t need this kind of shit because I never have to fight when I get it, but I really need a Spell for my motion sickness. You got anything for that?”

“I might,” the little girl replies hesitantly, unsure of herself. “Let me try this:  _ Troia! _ ”

There’s a bright light, and, almost instantly, she begins to feel better, her stomach settling and her throat relaxing due to not needing to keep down threatening bile any longer. Jaelyn is finally able to stand up straight and regain her footing in the moving city without her stomach wanting to be outside her body, and yet she doesn’t force Jellal to remove the comforting arm from around her shoulders. Something about it reminds her of what she missed growing up: the love of an older brother who wasn’t possessed by a sadistic  _ Arc of Time _ Mage.

_ ‘Can you hear me?’ _ Hibiki calls out through using  _ Telepathy,  _ startling Jaelyn from her thoughts and making her flinch back against Jellal.  _ ‘Somebody… Somebody, respond! If you are safe, please respond!’ _

Erza turns her attention away from the group.  _ ‘That voice… Is that you, Hibiki?’ _

_ ‘Erza! And you're safe too, I see, Wendy. Jaelyn’s with you too?’ _

_ ‘By the way, I'm safe as well,’ _ one of the Trimen informs. 

_ ‘Thank goodness,’ _ Hibiki sighs.  _ ‘What happened? I thought Christina was shot down. It was shot out of the sky like nothing by those guys near the entrance to the Woodsea.’ _

_ ‘So it can still fly?’ _ Jaelyn asks.

_ ‘Yeah. We managed, somehow,’  _ the other Trimen half laughs. _ ‘We're just a temporary alliance, so teamwork is all the more important. Lyon is using his  _ Maker Magic _ to replace the wing that was destroyed from their attack. The hull, which was split into pieces, is being held together by Sherry's  _ Doll Attack  _ and Ren's  _ Air Magic _ .” _

The three respective Mages complain about having to manipulate and control something so big and bulky, and the sheer idiocy of it at a time like this makes Jaelyn’s lips quirk up into a somewhat irked, but still amused, smile. Such an insignificant thing at a time like this is, well, it’s a little bit of a silver lining to the whole dark sky that has been the past few hours. Standing beside the one person here that she trusts above all things, Jaelyn can’t help but feel as though she’s found a place where she can finally allow herself to have an idea of what it’s like to truly belong somewhere where she has no need to show her strength or fight to be respected, and she’s beginning to like it.

_ ‘Just listen to this, before it's too late,’ _ Hibiki says, bringing Jaelyn’s mind out of its illusion and into the real gravity of their situation.  _ ‘It took a long time, but I finally found it inside the Archive! The way to stop Nirvana!’ _

_ ‘Really?’ _ Wendy asks.  _ ‘Nirvana has six leg-looking things, right?’ _

_ ‘They're actually more like pipes that suck up Magic Energy from the earth itself. The Lacrima that regulate that absorption are located where the six legs join the main body. If you destroy those six Lacrima in different locations at the same time, Nirvana will be completely deactivated. One at a time won't work. The other Lacrima will regenerate the one that was destroyed.’ _

_ ‘Destroy six Lacrima in different places simultaneously?’  _ Erza voices in disbelief. _ ‘But how?’ _

_ ‘I'd like to coordinate the timing, but I don't think I can keep the  _ Telepathy  _ up that long. I've uploaded the timing to your brains. Nirvana is almost ready to fire again.’ _

_ ‘I just know you all can do it!’ _ the mocking voice of Brain, no, Zero says.  _ ‘I believe in you!’ _

_ ‘Impossible!’ _ Hibiki gasps.  _ ‘Who is that?’ _

_ ‘That voice…’ _ Erza whispers.

_ ‘It's the guy called Brain!’ _ one of the Allies exclaims.

_ ‘He's jacked my  _ Telepathy _ ?’ _ Hibiki asks in horror.

_ ‘I am Zero!’ _ the Master of the Oración Seis roars.  _ ‘The Master of Oración Seis!’ _

_ ‘Oración Seis' Master?’ _ another of the Allies asks in disbelief.

_ ‘First, let me praise you. I never thought there would be someone who could use  _ Archive Magic _ like Brain.’ _

_ ‘I see,’  _ Hibiki muses.  _ ‘So he knew about Nirvana because of his  _ Archive Magic _ .’ _

_ ‘Listen well, Wizards of the Light! Starting now, I will destroy everything! As a start, I have destroyed three of your friends. A Dragon Slayer, an Ice Make Wizard, a Celestial Spirit Wizard! And maybe some cat, too.’ _

At the mention of Gray being defeated, Jaelyn feels her stomach tighten and her mind go blank. Now the muted pain she felt earlier makes a lot more sense, and it fills her with enough rage to encapsulate the whole of Fiore in pure Darkness Magic. The Master of the Oración Seis dared to hurt one of the people under the protection of the Dark Dragon, and now he’s going to pay with his very life. I won’t matter who tries to stop her, even if it’s Gray himself, she is going to end the life of the man known as Zero, and oh how she is going to enjoy doing it.

_ ‘Natsu and the others are…’  _ Erza trails off before regaining her composure.  _ ‘That's got to be a lie!’ _

_ ‘I believe you said something about destroying the Lacrima at the same time?’  _ Zero recalls, a mocking amusement in his taunting voice. _ ‘Right now, I am standing in front of one of those six Lacrima! As long as I am here, destroying all six at the same time is impossible!’ _

_ ‘Zero has cut off his transmission,’  _ Hibiki informs. _ ‘If we are going to destroy all six at the same time, then we have no choice but to split up and each head to a different place. The chances of encountering Zero are one in six, and what's more, unless it's you, Erza, there's no chance of winning against him.’ _

_ ‘Don’t count me out, Pegasus boy,’  _ Jaelyn snarls viciously.  _ ‘I am stronger than Erza, and I have a fucking bone to pick with Zero. He hurt someone I care about, and he’s going to pay!’ _

While every member of the Alliance makes their own pleas about the levels of their Magic or their inability to fight, Jaelyn has already sniffed out where Zero is, and she’s already made a flawless plan to kick his ass without using much Magic Power at all. Eventually, the flying pegasus Christina comes crashing down yet again, sending two of the Trimen from Blue Pegasus and Lyon and Sherry from Lamia Scale plummeting to the harsh, unforgiving ground below.

_ ‘Gray. Stand up,’ _ she hears Lyon snarl at his somewhat rival, a clear plea for Gray to get up and fight, even if it costs him his life.  _ ‘You're a proud disciple of Ur! You aren't going to lose to the likes of them!’ _

_ ‘Lucy, I really hate you. Just 'cause you're a little cute, you think you're all that,’ _ Sherry bitches, but it’s sort of motivational, in its own way.  _ ‘Even though you're stupid and clumsy and a weakling, but how can I hate you if you die? It wouldn't feel right. So answer me!’ _

_ ‘Natsu…’ _ Wendy pleads.

Carla’s plea makes Jaelyn smirk.  _ ‘Tomcat…’ _

_ ‘Natsu,’ _ Erza calls.  _ ‘Can you hear our voices?’ _

_ ‘We can hear you,’ _ Natsu replies.

“Natsu,” Jaelyn hears Jellal say, his brow furrowed and dull memories coming to life in the depths of his mind, startling her. He remembers Natsu in some kind of way, and it may be because the other Dragon Slayer was the one who kicked his ass all those months ago.

_ ‘We'll destroy all six Lacrima at once, and a lucky one gets to fight Zero on the way, right?’ _

_ ‘There's only 18 minutes left,’ _ Gray says.  _ ‘We have to hurry. We're gonna protect Carla and Wendy's Guild!’ _

Jaelyn lets out a sigh of relief.  _ ‘Gray, you’re okay. Thank fuck for that, but I’m still giving Zero hell for it!’ _

_ ‘My  _ Telepathy _ is going to run out soon.’ _ A map appears in the minds of the Wizards, courtesy of Hibiki.  _ ‘You should have a map in your brains that I sent you. I numbered each of the Lacrima. Decide on which one of you goes.’ _

Several cries arise as the Allies decide on which of the six legs of Nirvana they are going to attack and destroy the Lacrima within, but Jaelyn already knows where to go - to the one Hibiki labelled as number one; the one where Natsu himself is heading after also sniffing Zero out. She rolls her shoulders, inadvertently pushing her brother’s arm from her body, but she doesn’t need that touch at the moment - what she needs is to tear Zero to shreds and make him pay for hurting Gray.

_ ‘I'll take five,’ _ Erza informs.

Jellal steps forward, bringing Jaelyn with him.  _ ‘Then, we'll-’ _

Erza cuts Jellal off.  _ ‘You're six.’ _

_ ‘Was there someone else?’ _ Natsu demands.  _ ‘Who was that just now?’ _

“Natsu doesn't know about your circumstances yet. He thinks you're an enemy. Don't speak.”

The  _ Telepathy _ from Hibiki suddenly cuts off and Jaelyn knows that they’re on their own for the rest of this shit show. Turning her attention to the direction of the designated first leg of Nirvana, Jaelyn’s body trembles as she has to fight the urge to go rip Zero’s head off before Natsu even gets a single chance to kick the Master of the Oración Seis’ ass. Yet, something is holding her back, and, while it may be Jellal’s hand on her right shoulder, over her Fairy Tail Guild Mark, it may also be that of her old conscience forcing its way back into control.

Shaking her head, Jaelyn shoves it away and grins, baring her pointed teeth as her body heats drastically. The onyx scales hidden behind her bandages race up her arms, down to her hands and up to her face, showing the world that she’s out for blood.


	29. 26 • Flamed Redemption

“I think Zero is at number one,” Erza muses.

Wendy’s eyes widen. “Where Natsu is going!”

“He has a good nose. He chose one for that reason.”

“Then let's go and give him backup! If we all fight together, then-”

“Don't underestimate Natsu. Leave everything to him and we'll be fine. We need to head to our destination!”

“Jaelyn and I will take five,” Jellal says, trying to argue with Erza.

“You're six, Jellal,” Erza rebukes, standing her ground.

“Jellal,” Jaelyn says worriedly, drawing her twin’s attention.

“No. It's nothing,” her twin dismisses, but his thoughts say otherwise.  _ ‘Natsu Dragneel…’ _

Erza is quick to run off, heading for the designated fifth leg of Nirvana, leaving Jellal, Jaelyn, Wendy and Carla standing in the middle of the city. Jellal simply stares off into the distance, trying to wrap his mind around why it appears as though he’s only remembering Natsu of all people, and Jaelyn is of no help her twin, despite them sharing a mind, she’s not fully aware of what their connection implies or what its limitations and uses are. If only he remembered her as well, this whole thing would be quite a lot easier.

“Jellal, do you feel okay?” Wendy hesitantly asks.

“You can use Healing Magic, yes?” Jellal questions the young Sky Dragon Slayer. “Can you recover Natsu's Magic Power during his fight with Zero?”

“Well, I…”

“What's this crazy talk?” Carla demands, downright furious. “Do you have any idea how many times she's used Healing Magic today already? Any more is impossible! You know that she's actually…”

“I see. Then, Jae and I will handle Natsu's recovery,” Jellal replies. “I remember the unfathomable power he has: the power of hope. You go destroy the sixth Lacrima in my stead.”

Wendy shakes her head. “But I…”

“I know you can do it,” Jaelyn tells the small girl, crouching down and placing her scaled and clawed hands on the bluette’s shoulders. “Dragon Slayer Magic was designed to be an overwhelming offensive Magic for battling Dragons.”

“Air, or rather, the sky, eat the heavens themselves,” Jellal agrees. “The power of a Dragon sleeps within you.”

“You and Natsu are powerful Slayers, just as much as I am, little one. You’re even as strong as Gajeel, our Iron Dragon Slayer. Erik -  _ Cobra _ would have a hard time standing up to someone like you, and I bet you could kick both Laxus’ and Lavinia’s asses if you really wanted to. You can do this.” Jaelyn stands, smiling slightly when Wendy catches sight of her arms and face. “Don’t worry. You won’t become like this, little one. You’re better than I am, and you have something I don’t - a family that loves and cherishes you beyond anything.”

Wendy shakes her head. “But I’m not strong like you, and I never will be.”

“Oh, little one, you will be even stronger.”

Jaelyn follows after Jellal, leaving Wendy and Carla to destroy the Lacrima in the designated sixth leg of the walking death machine created centuries ago. It’s going to be a challenge for the young girl, but it’s one that she’s more than capable of making through still in one piece, and it’s going to be able to push her into becoming a stronger, better Wizard even at her young age. 

Linking her arm with Jellal’s, Jaelyn turns her mind from the young Dragon Slayer to the slightly older Dragon Slayer they’re about to come in contact with alongside Zero. Natsu is more than likely going to overreact and attack Jellal, and maybe even Jaelyn, but there’s no helping that fact. He’s more stubborn and protective than Jaelyn gave him credit for at the start, and that’s something she’s come to somewhat admire about the oblivious Fire Dragon Slayer. The fact that he has someone he cares about enough to be such a way is downright admirable, and it’s something that Jaelyn can agree on with the other Slayer, which cannot be said about other things.

Upon arriving at designated leg one, Jellal sends a stream of fire through the opening door, attacking what appears to be Natsu. The idiot somehow manages to get hurt by the attack and ends up sprawled on the ground, but not for long. He’s quick to get back up and run to attack the male Fernandes, only for another fire attack to be launched at the Fire Dragon Slayer. 

This time, instead of getting hit, he eats the fire and glares at Jellal. “Fire ain't gonna work on me!”

“I know. I remember,” Jellal agrees. “You're Natsu, our only hope.”

“What?! Huh?”

“The Fire Dragon Slayer. Your Magic Power increases from the power of flames.”

“Power of flames?”

“You…” Zero growls. “Doesn't seem like your memories have totally returned at all.”

“It's as I said, I remembered Natsu, that is all,” Jellal informs the leader of the Oración Seis. “I will stop Nirvana. What I am trying to do has not changed, Zero.”

“What do you mean, memories?” Natsu demands.

“He doesn’t have any memories prior to waking up in the Woodsea,” Jaelyn tells Natsu, making the other Slayer finally realise that she’s standing there. “He knows what he’s done, but he doesn’t have the memories of it - only the faded memories in my mind.”

“All I know is it seems I caused you and Erza some great injury, but, now, I wish to protect Wendy's Guild,” Jellal agrees, a pained look in his eyes. “I wish to stop Nirvana. I wish to be of help to all of you!”

“Like hell you do! Are you sayin' you forgot all that?” Natsu roars. “You can't get away with pretending to be my ally!”

“Please, Natsu. Accept this flame!”

“Well, I didn't forget. I'll never forget Erza's tears! You… You… You made Erza cry!”

Natsu emphasises his words by punching Jellal across the face, making Jaelyn’s head snap to the side and her cheek sting in pain at the powerful blow. A bored Zero tells them to take their fight outside as it annoys him, and then he unleashes  _ Dark Capriccio  _ against Natsu. Jellal jumps in front of Natsu and shields him from the Spell, reminiscent of how Simon shielded Natsu and Erza in the Tower of Heaven against Jellal's attack. Jaelyn grunts in pain and falls to her knees beside her brother’s prone form, clutching at her yet again damaged abdomen.

“If you want to do me in, you can do it anytime. I'm already on my last legs.” Jellal raises his hand eclipsed in golden flames. “Now… The Power to defeat that guy.”

“Golden flames,” Natsu exclaims, eyes wide.

“Natsu, this is the Flame of Rebuke.”

“The Flame of Rebuke?”

“I don't need you to forgive me, I just want you to receive this Power. I believe in you. I believe in the man that Erza believes in. I'm counting on you.”

Natsu looks over to Jaelyn, who nods, urging him to take the flame from her twin, and that makes Natsu begrudgingly accept the Flame of Rebuke, which engulfs him in its golden fire. Natsu then begins to eat it while Jellal lies immobilized, smiling, Jaelyn crawling over to her older brother and trying her best to drag him away from the powerful battle that is about to ensue; trying to protect him like he protected her for their whole lives no matter what they came up against, and protecting him like she’s always done. As she watches, the Flame of Rebuke activates Natsu’s Dragon Force, and she knows that this is going to be a pretty close battle.

“Thanks for the meal,” Natsu tells the Heavenly Body Mage. “Don't worry, I've gotten your power, Jellal.”

“The Flame of Rebuke?” Zero muses. “By eating that, you take on the same sin-”

“I'm used to that. For a Fairy Tail Wizard, the true sin is averting one's eyes, and no longer being able to believe in anyone!”

Natsu viciously attacks Zero, restarting the battle. A delighted Zero and Natsu battle it out, with Zero using some of his most powerful attacks such as  _ Dark Delete _ and  _ Dark Gravity _ along with his previously used attacks such as  _ Dark Capriccio _ . Following the use of  _ Dark Gravity _ , Natsu and Zero take their battle to a lowest level of  [ Nirvana ](https://fairytail.fandom.com/wiki/Nirvana) , just above the legs. Zero appears to have the upper hand and beats Natsu up before beginning to mock him about his lack of Mastery of the Dragon Force.

Natsu once again stands up while telling Zero that he can sense his friends' feelings and hopes which give him the power and will to fight. He remembers the encouraging words and actions shown to him by his comrades and then uses his  _ Crimson Lotus: Exploding Flame Blade _ , while Zero uses his ultimate attack:  _ Genesis Zero _ . The two attacks clash and an explosion occurs, Jaelyn barely having enough time or Magic Power to erect the third  _ Hexagon Barrier _ of the day, shielding herself and Jellal from the battering Magic.

Somehow Natsu manages to escape the usually fatal Spell, but it’s to neither Jaelyn’s or Jellal’s surprise that he does so. He then goes on to kick Zero’s ass and destroy the lacrima with ease, Jaelyn cancelling out her  _ Hexagon Barrier  _ and struggling to get to her feet, limping over to where Zero lies, powerless, on the ground inside the leg of Nirvana. He’s in no position to give up a fight, and, while that’s somewhat sad for Jaelyn, it will allow her to kill him as she pleases without having to restrain the beast.

_ ‘You’re going to pay for hurting Gray.’ _

“Natsu Dragneel…” Zero muses. “You are definitely a man that exceeds expectations…”

“I can't get up the strength.” Natsu begins to fall backwards into the gaping hole he left in his wake, but Jellal somehow regains enough strength to pull himself up from the ground and stop Natsu from falling. “Jellal?!”

Jaelyn stares down at Zero with blank eyes. “You made the worst enemy you could have possibly made, Master of the Oración Seis, and you are going to pay for what you did today with your life.”

“A pathetic Fairy like you is my enemy? How pitiful.”

Snarling, she clamps her clawed hand around his throat and hauls him to his feet, holding him several inches off the ground. “You don’t know who you’ve messed with, do you? I get that we’ve never met, but surely you’ve heard of me, and of the Guild I belong to.” She watches as his eyes dart to the Guild Mark on her left shoulder and widen at seeing the Mark that had been revealed when Natsu and Zero clashed and the Power hit her before she got the barrier up. “There we go. There’s the terror~”

“You’re from… No… That’s means you’re… You’re the Hand…”

“Now he realises what he’s done and who he’s made an enemy of. How sad~” Jaelyn buries her claws into the man’s throat. “Say goodnight, former Master of the Oración Seis~”

Jerking her arm back with the right amount of force, she rips the man’s throat clean out, his red and black eyes rolling into the back of his head as his body falls down into the chasm below. The bloodied lump that is his throat remains clutched in Jaelyn’s claws, a trophy of sorts for eradicating the one who hurt one she holds quite dear. Humming, she walks over to where Jellal and Natsu are, heaving them both up from the ground and helping her brother all but carry the exhausted Fire Dragon Slayer from the crumbling leg of Nirvana.

Making their way through the Woodsea to where the rest of the Allied Forces are is a quiet journey, none of them much in the mood for talking, and none quite sure what to say even if they were. Jaelyn and Jellal keep sharing worried looks, not sure what is going to happen when they finally get to the other Mages, but quite prepared for nearly any kind of outcome.

Gray is the first one Jaelyn hears. “Natsu! That piece of flame!”

Wendy is the second, and it’s a cry of relief. “Natsu!”

“Natsu,” Lucy sighs in relief.

Jaelyn and Jellal lead Natsu over to his friends, sitting him on a rather convenient rock to recuperate, only for Jellal to head over to Erza when he’s free of the Slayer. Jaelyn watches the pair with a soft smile, finding that they compliment each other quite nicely, but knowing that there’s going to be quite a lot of work needed for the pair before anything of that sort can come to pass. However, the same can be said about Jaelyn herself and whoever she meets in the future - or maybe Laxus, depending on what he’s like when they see each other next.

“Jellal is actually a good person!” Erza defends her old friend. “At any rate, we must give him our thanks for his help.”

“Erza, no,” Jellal refuses, shaking his head. “You have nothing to thank me for.”

“What do you plan to do after this?”

“After this? I don't know…”

“That sounds about right. Answers do not come so easily for you and me.”

“I'm scared.”

“Scared?”

“What if my memories return?”

“Jellal… I'm with you. Even if we come to hate each other once again, as you are now, I cannot leave you be.”


	30. 27 • Imprisoned, Again

As usual, when everything seems to be going well, something has to come and ruin what little happiness and relief they’ve created. Discovering  _ Jutsu Shiki  _ Letter Magic surrounding the Alliance, Jaelyn knows just how much shit is going to be forced upon them by the Magic Council - of which she is a part of. The only one she’s aware of that has this kind of Magical Power is Lahar, which further means that this is more than a friendly visit to imprison the Oración Seis.

“Show yourself!” Erza demands, prepared to fight, but she’s confused when they become surrounded by men in white cloaks. “Who are they?!”

“I wish to do you no harm,” Lahar informs, moving towards the Mages, his eyes moving to Jaelyn and Jellal for a second before returning to the others. “All I desire is for you to stay here, without moving, for a little while.”

“Who are you?”

“I am Captain of the Reformed Magic Council's 4th Custody Enforcement Unit. My name is Lahar.”

“Who?” Natsu asks, oblivious as usual.

“Reformed Magic Council?” Gray says in disbelief. “They're already back in business?”

Jaelyn looks over at Gray.  _ ‘Yeah, I forgot to tell you. We reformed after the Tower of Heaven incident.’ _

_ ‘That would have been nice to know, Jae.’ _

“We have been reborn, to uphold the law and protect justice,” Lahar continues. “We have no mercy for those that do evil acts.”

“What do you mean?” Erza exclaims. “We haven't done anything bad!”

“R-Right, sure we didn't…” Natsu says with a laugh.

“That didn't sound very convincing,” Lucy complains.

“I am aware. Our purpose is to arrest Oración Seis.” Lahar’s words send a chill down Jaelyn’s spine, and she begins to worry for Erik. “Please hand over that person code-named Hot Eye to us.”

Jura, the Tenth Wizard Saint, steps forward, protesting. “Wait a minute!”

“It is okay, Jura,” Richard appeases.

“Richard…”

“Even if my soul has been awakened to righteousness, that does not wipe clean my past evil ways. I wish to start over from the beginning. That way, when I finally reunite with my brother, I can look him eye to eye.”

“Then, I shall search for your brother in your stead,” Erza offers with a smile.

Richard turns to Erza with bright eyes. “You will?”

“Please tell me your brother's name.”

“His name is Wally. Wally Buchanan.”

Jaelyn laughs in disbelief at the familiar name. “No freaking way.”

Erza blinks in her own state of disbelief. “Actually, I know that man.”

“What say you?” Richard replies, eyes wide.

“He is my friend. He is now energetically traveling around the continent.”

“Is this what they call a miracle, bestowed only to those who believe in the light? T-Thank you! Thank you! Thank you…”

As Richard is placed in cuffs and lead into a prison cart, Jaelyn listens as members of the Alliance, namely those in Fairy Tail, express their sympathies for the former Dark Mage. If this had of been the extent of Nirvana’s Power in the first place, there’s no doubt in her mind that Jaelyn herself would have been the one to unseal the creation and use its Power to change all Dark Mages to regular Mages.

“Enough already!” Lyon barks at Lahar. “Just unseal the runes!”

“No. Our true objective is not Oración Seis,” Lahar retorts, dread filling Jaelyn at his next words. “The one who infiltrated the Magic Council, destroyed it, and fired Etherion. There is a far greater evildoer among you, yes? You, Jellal. Come! If you resist, I have orders to use lethal force!”

“But that's…” Erza trails off. “Hold it a second! 

“That man is dangerous. We cannot allow him loose in the world again. Never again. Jellal Fernandes, I hereby place you under arrest for the crime of high treason against the state.”

“Please, wait! Jellal has lost his memories! He doesn't remember a thing!”

“By Clause 13 of the Criminal Code, that is not a valid defense.” 

Jaelyn marches forward, eyes dark as her fist slams against the  _ Jutsu Shiki  _ Letter Magic barrier. “You know exactly who I am, and just how damn powerful I am, so make your choice wisely,  _ Lahar _ . You hurt my brother, that means you hurt me, quite literally. If anything happens to my brother under your watch,  _ you are dead _ .”

Jellal walks up beside his twin and places his hand on her shoulder, prepared to give himself up. “You can release them from the runes now.”

Lahar nods and breaks the spell, pulling out another pair of cuffs and slipping them around Jellal’s wrists. “I assure you, Lady Jaelyn, that he will come to no harm under my watch.”

“But…!” Wendy tries to speak up, but is unable to find her words.

“It's okay. I have no intention of resisting,” Jellal tells the young Dragon Slayer. “I never was able to remember you. I am truly sorry, Wendy.”

“She tells me that long ago, she was saved by you,” Carla informs.

“I see. I do not know how much suffering I must have caused all of you, but, to hear that I saved someone, makes me glad.” Jellal turns his gaze to his old friend. “Erza… Thank you for everything.”

_ ‘I must stop him. It's for me to stop him,’ _ Erza thinks, accidentally projecting her thoughts enough for Jaelyn to be able to hear them through her Telepathy. ‘ _ Jellal is going away. Jellal, finally awakened from his long nightmare, is… How can I just let him be shut up in the darkness yet again?’ _

“Is there nothing left you wish to say?” Lahar asks everyone, but mostly Jellal. “It's pretty much guaranteed you'll be executed or given life without parole.”

“But that's…”

“You'll never see another Human face again.”

In the blink of an eye, there’s a fight for Jellal’s freedom and life, and it’s led by Natsu, much to the surprise of everyone. After his previous experience with the older man, none thought he’d protest the arrest of the Heaven;y Body Mage. However, it seems as though, after being helped just one time, the Fire Dragon Slayer is prepared to forgive and forget. Soon enough, Gray and Wendy are fighting alongside Natsu, and Jaelyn has to shield both Jellal and herself from the guards that fly backwards in their general direction.

Surprisingly, even Jura agrees with Natsu, and that sparks agreement from the rest of Lamia Scale, and even from Blue Pegasus. They join the fight to stop Jellal’s freedom from being taken, unforgivingly, from him for no other matter than he was under the control of a Dark Wizard from Grimoire Heart, and was forced to do their bidding no matter how hard he rebelled against her. Jaelyn can’t help but smile at the fact that they’re more than prepared to risk being thrown into prison themselves to protect someone who is a complete and utter stranger to them all, and, for once, she feels as though, just maybe, humans aren’t so bad after all.

Lahar barks out orders to the guards around him. “Arrest them all! For obstructing government officials and aiding in the escape of a criminal!”

“Enough! That's far enough!” Erza yells, startling everyone into silence. “I apologise for the fuss we've caused. I will take full responsibility. Jellal… Take him.”

Natsu turns to her in shock. “Erza!”

“Sit down!”

“Yes, ma'am.”

The Alliance Wizards hesitantly stop fighting and back away from Lahar and the guards, letting them regroup and help their wounded. Jaelyn watches the scene with a sickening feeling in her stomach, knowing that this may well be the last time she sees her twin outside of prison. A warm hand links with hers and squeezes it comfortingly, the calluses on their palm telling her that it’s none other than Jellal himself, and it makes her realise, even with him having no memories or any idea how to navigate their bond, he is still able to feel her emotions and hear her thoughts.

“Don’t worry about me,” Jellal says with a crooked smile.

“How can I not? You don’t remember anything, and you’re going to fucking prison for something that is as much my fault as it is yours - and the bitch that controlled you for almost a decade. You don’t deserve this…”

“Everything will be fine, little sister.”

Jaelyn’s eyes fly to him in shock. “You…”

He gets led away by Lahar, but he pauses for a moment and looks back at Erza. “Oh, right… It was the colour of your hair. Farewell, Erza.”

If the shocked and pained look on the nineteen-year-old’s face and the glossy sheen covering her eyes is anything to go by, It’s in that moment Jaelyn knows that Erza regrets stopping everyone. Seeing that rare smile grace Jellal’s face makes Jaelyn’s heart shatter into too many pieces to count, her knees buckling seconds before she falls to the ground, the cool arms of Gray too late to catch her but just in time to give her some comfort. Only once the door to the prison cart is shut and locked and the containment contraption is far out of sight does Erza turn and walk away, leaving everyone behind.

“Where did Erza go?” Happy asks.

“Let's leave her alone for a little while,” Lucy suggests.

“Aye.”

Jaelyn continues to stare after her twin, her mind swirling with the handful of happy memories from the Tower of Heaven - namely the day that both herself and Jellal met Erza not long after they were taken from their families. 

_ “Jellal Fernandes,” Jellal greets with a grin. “This is my sister, Jaelyn.” _

_ “Whoa, that's hard to remember,” Wally exclaims. “That name's gonna tie my tongue in knots!” _

_ “Your name, "Wally Buchanan", seems hard to remember, too,” Simon retorts. “Erza, how about you?” _

_ The redhead smiles slightly. “I am Erza. Just plain Erza.” _

_ “That's kind of sad…” Jellal muses, playing with a strand of her hair. _

_ “What?” _

_ “It's a pretty scarlet,” Jaelyn murmurs quietly, voicing mutual thoughts. _

_ “Scarlet?” Erza asks. _

_ “I know,” Jellal declares. “Let's name you "Erza Scarlet"!” _

_ “"Name you"?” Simon exclaims. “Don't just go naming other people.” _

_ “Scarlet…” the young redhead tries, playing with her hair. “Erza Scarlet… Scarlet…” _

_ “The colour of your hair,” Jellal confirms. “That way, I'll never forget.” _

** • • • • • •**

**Hey, superwolves!**

**(Gods, I need a new name for y’all since I’m no longer using that username. Do any of you even remember me having that username? That was a weird ass time... So, suggestions, anyone?)**

**So, after this chapter, we’re onto the Edolas Arc. I’m going to skip over the whole Daphne Arc because, honestly, I kind of found that it wasn’t exactly critical to the storyline. I’m going to have a few chapters of Jaelyn interacting with Mystogan because, before I end up having to stop including him in this story, I want them to have more of a sibling-like relationship. That means the actual Edolas part of this book is going to be delayed until about chapter 30 or so.**

**\- Chey xo -**


	31. 28 • Misery and Sympathy

Jaelyn hasn’t left her house in days, even opting to ignore the battle raging on outside with the fake dragon created by some lunatic by the name of Daphne, who supposedly turned Gray to her side or some bullshit. From what she’s heard, Gray simply wanted Natsu to remember the promise he made to a village of invisible people when he was a child or some shit, but he kind of went the wrong way about that it seems, which ended up making almost the whole of Fairy Tail turn on him, except for Juvia of course. Honestly, it’s a mess Jaelyn’s glad she didn’t get thrown into.

Dealing with her twin brother and one of her best friends being taken to prison is something she finds to be of more importance than a miniscule promise made most likely over a decade ago, and no one can change her mind on that. Caught up in her thoughts while she, yet again, strips and remakes her bed, she misses the sound of her front door opening and closing despite her supernatural hearing, and she doesn’t realise that anyone is in her house until she turns around and comes face-to-face with the Edolas version of her older brother, mask already stripped from his face.

“Mystogan,” she greets with a weak smile. “I wasn’t expecting you for a few days.”

“You sounded like you needed company, Jae,” he replies, his smile sympathetic and thin, barely visible underneath the pain on his face.

“There’s something else, isn't there? There always is.”

“I’m sorry.”

“Don’t be. Go make yourself comfortable and I’ll get you some tea or something when I finish up here.”

“Jaelyn, stop forcing yourself. I’ll make the tea, you go sit and relax. These past few months have been hard for you, I know they have. You need to have a break before what happens next.”

Without fighting him, she makes her way into the open-plan area and all but collapses onto her couch, head falling into her hands and her shoulders rigid with tension she’s unable to release at the moment. Mystogan buries his surprise at her willingness to obey his suggestion and goes into the kitchen to make tea for the both of them - the kind that they both like, and the kind that will allow her to get everything off her chest without fear of being overheard by anyone due to Freed’s Rune work on the house. It’s both a blessing and a curse, but it’s more of the former at the moment.

The second he sits down, Jaelyn is latched onto him, her arms tight around his middle and her face buried into his chest, her shoulders quaking as she cries out her bottled-up feelings from the past few months. Mystogan slowly encircles her with his arms, holding her lightly, unsure as to whether or not she’s in the right frame of mind to be held, but still wanting to be of some comfort for the Earthland counterpart of his deceased older sister. At his actions, she nestles herself further into his clothes, seemingly trying to get as close as she can, and that tells him that he can hold her like anyone else in this instance.

“Let it all out,” he urges, lightly rubbing her back, aware of the scars covering it. “It’s alright. I’m not going anywhere.”

“They locked him up,” she cries, her voice muffled against his clothes. “The fucking Magic Council deemed my  _ amnesiac brother  _ dangerous enough to be fucking  _ imprisoned _ .”

“I’m not condoning their actions, but they’re only doing what they believe needs to be done.”

“They didn’t even consult me, and I’m on that damn Council!”

“You’re too close to it all. They knew what your answer would be, Jae.”

“I just want my brother, Jellal. I just want him back…”

“I know you do. Believe me, I know.”

Jaelyn shakes her head and pulls away, staring up at him with red eyes. “I’m sorry. I forgot that you lost your sister, and here I am acting this way when mine’s still alive, only imprisoned.”

Mystogan smiles slightly, pushing hair out of her face and wiping away her tears. “Don’t say anything like that. No matter whether alive or dead, our brother is as special to you as my sister is to me, and they’re of equal importance. Don’t belittle your situation just because of mine.”

“You make everything sound so simple… Why can’t it be like that all the time?”

“If it were, nothing would ever happen.”

“I lost my brother and one of my best friends on the same day, Jel… Part of me wishes that I’d of stopped it all from happening, but another part… it wants something else entirely, and I don’t know how to stop it.”

“This is one of those instances where you need someone who doesn’t look and sound like your twin. I fear that I am only making this harder on you, Jae.”

“You may be right about needing someone, but you’ll suffice, I guess,  _ brother from another world _ .”

Mystogan laughs. “But, seriously, should you not tell someone else about this?”

Jaelyn rolls her eyes. “Someone like Gray? It’s not as if he doesn’t already know, and he’s got enough on his plate as it is.”

“What about Gajeel, or Juvia?”

“You really want them knowing about you? That’s where  _ that _ will lead.”

“You have a point there. Is Bickslow an option?”

“A Seith Mage? Yeah, he’s probably the only one who’d even come close to understanding anything about the shit show that is my life.”

Somewhat reluctantly, Jaelyn peels herself away from Mystogan and off the couch, making her way over to the communication lacrima on the cupboard, not in the mood to use her  _ Telepathy _ to contact the Seith Mage. To her surprise, she finds out that he’s actually on his way to her place, which, strange and uncommon as it is, in this instance, is some of the best news she’s heard in months - since she heard that she was going to be reunited with her twin. After telling him just to walk in when he arrives, she plops back down on the couch, tugging the cloth mask off Mystogan’s face and throwing it away.

It’s not long before an unmasked Bickslow walks into her home, dark red eyes almost instantly intrigued by Jaelyn and Mystogan, delight alight in their depths. “How interesting. What Laxus said is true - you are Jellal Fernandes, but not from this world.”

“Thanks for coming, Bix,” Jaelyn says with a small smile, making the older man’s curious eyes turn concerned when they come to rest on her. “What were you coming her for in the first place anyway?”

“I had a feeling you’d be needing someone after what happened. Gildarts is off on a mission, Gray’s a little preoccupied, Lavinia is off visiting my family in Bosco and Laxus is nowhere to be found, so that leaves very few people, right, little dragon?”

“Sometimes I regret telling you anything… but I guess that you have a good point. Right now, everyone in this room is all I have to talk to.”

Mystogan makes a small sound. “Come on, Jae, you’ve got more than your twins counterpart and a Seith Mage.”

Bickslow grins and jumps onto the opposite end of the couch. “I gotta agree with Mystogan there. Just ‘cause we’re the ones you called on, doesn’t mean that no one else in the Guild doesn’t care.”

Jaelyn smiles at the pair. “How is it that you both see the good in people after everything you’ve been through? I only see the bad in them, and it makes them so hard to trust - even if it’s just a little bit.”

Instead of replying, the Seith Mage and Anima Mage share a worried look above the Dark Dragon Slayer’s head, not sure what they should say to make any part of this better. Sure, they’ve both had their own issues in the past, but nothing as severe as what she’s had, and that makes it difficult to know what they can and can’t say in their attempts to comfort or console her.


	32. 29 • Relinquish Inhibitions

**Hey, superwolves!**

**So, this whole chapter was not planned, like at all, but I do like how it turned out in the end. If you can’t tell, I really suck at writing anything remotely smutty or sexual, because, fuck it, I am probably the most inexperienced 19-year-old of all fucking time. In lieu of that, you can thank the stories I’ve read for what I know about this kind of shit (*cough* Rhov *cough*).**

**I just want to keep this clear: Bickslow and Jaelyn are not romantically/sexually involved outside of this chapter, but they will have a close friendship in the few chapters after Edolas and before Tenrou Island. The only reason they did anything remotely like that in this chapter is because, come on, who hasn’t had some sort of sexual tension with their friends at one point? And, also, it’s kind of like a one-time friends-with-benefits kind of thing, so don’t go getting any ideas.**

**Ugh. I fucking suck at explaining things, but I hope y’all at least understand what I’m trying to explain here. If not, then I do apologise for that, and I’m not sure how else to really explain it.**

**\- Chey xo -**

**• • • • • •**

It takes the three Mages only a few hours, countless bottles of alcohol and the right music to be hysterical messes on the floor of Jaelyn’s house, a game of strip Truth or Dare almost halfway through. If anyone were to look into the open-plan area through the window at any moment, they’d most certainly be called deranged for being in such states before dark. In any case, that’s the least worrying of what could be said about the Mage’s predicaments - it could be mistaken for something much more devious or lewd.

With how Bickslow is half sitting on Mystogan in his drunken stupor, one of his arms thrown around Jaelyn’s shoulders and his tongue hanging out more than usual, it could be deduced as some kind of sexual ploy to get the Seith Mage to fuck the Anima Mage - or it could seem as though twins are attempting to ply their guest into having a threesome. Both of those ideas are insane to the Mages, but could seem more than possible for anyone curious enough, or perverted enough, to look inside the house. 

Bickslow’s down to only his pants and underwear, an alcohol-induced flush covering his face and his babies flying around haphazardly above his head. His black and blue hair is a complete mess from one dare when Jaelyn had to give him a lap dance, and his dark red eyes are still darkened with the desire he residually feels from that experience. Mystogan isn't in much better of a clothing predicament, a dark t-shirt and his boxers being the only clothes clinging to his lithe body. There are small braids in his cobalt hair and he has a few scrapes on his bared arms from when he was under a _Figure Eyes_ Spell for a few rounds. Jaelyn, on the other hand, still has a baggy shirt and bike shorts on, her long cobalt hair a haphazard mess from the period of time she spent rolling on the floor in laughter at the idiocy of the males beside her. The worst she’s had to deal with was probably having to remove all the clothes she felt comfortable doing so, because, even in their states, those males are more considerate than most sober males.

“You’re kidding!” Bickslow cackles, his head falling back and almost dragging himself and Mystogan to the floor before regaining his wobbly balance. “You and Gray were the ones to do that? I thought for sure it was Natsu!”

Mystogan laughs, dark green eyes more lively than either have seen them in a long time. “I remember that! Natsu got so much shit for that!”

Jaelyn winks at the pair, having another mouthful of her drink. “Makarov would have _killed_ us for that if he knew. I mean, sure, Natsu was the perfect damn candidate to have pulled that prank, but it was way out of his fucking league! A Black Magic _Voodoo Spell_? One of the best ideas I’ve had, if I’m honest.”

Bickslow grins. “It was damn awesome! You should’ve hit Laxus with that when he hurt ya!”

At the mention of the Second Generation Lightning Dragon Slayer, her mood sours quite quickly, a glare taking root in her glazed eyes. She instinctively rubs her abdomen where the scar from that fight still remains, and that draws the eyes of the two others in her house, Bickslow instantly regretting the words that came out, and Mystogan’s eyes turning pained as the smile fades from his face. The Seith Mage instantly clambers off the Anima Mage and moves over to the Dragon Slayer, pulling her onto his lap and hugging her tightly, slightly surprised that she’s not fighting him.

“I shouldn’t have brought that up. Sorry, little dragon,” Bickslow murmurs, sounding more sober right then more than he did five minutes ago. “I got no damn filter at the best of times.”

Resting her hand on his bare arm, Jaelyn has to fight back a recoil at the slight feeling of braille under the pads of her fingers. “No, it’s alright. Still a bit of a sore spot after all these years. That was the one time I ever saw Laxus completely _pissed _at something; at _me_. I was terrified of him, more terrified of him than anyone who did anything to me in the past, and I actually feared for my life - for mine and Jellal’s lives.” Her other hand pulls up the corner of the shirt she’s wearing, revealing a haggard scar just above her hip from where Laxus’ lightning attack pierced straight through her. “Sometimes it’s like I can still feel the aftershocks pulsing through my body…”

A pale hand comes to cover hers and she looks up to find Mystogan giving her a pained smile. “I remember finding you just laying there, Laxus panicking like nothing I’d seen from him before. He was scared that he’d killed you, and I’m not sure he’s ever forgiven himself.”

Bickslow hums in agreement, moving his head so he can examine the scar without letting her go. “He hasn’t, that much I’m aware of. He used to give you these downright _tortured _looks after that happened, and he didn’t stop even when he was expelled from the Guild.” He shifts as Jaelyn looks up at him over her shoulder. “You didn’t see, but, at the Fantasia parade, he looked at you up on that float and near cried seeing the state you were in.”

Jaelyn abruptly shakes her head and picks up a full bottle of vodka, opening it and gulping down several mouthfuls before lowering the bottle and huffing out a breath. “No more twin brother talk, no more Erik talk, and most certainly no more Laxus talk. Fuck them all!”

As Mystogan and Bickslow watch her with half-worried, half-amused smiles, Jaelyn clambers up off the latter’s lap and begins to jump around in an uncoordinated dance, taking occasional mouthfuls from the vodka bottle clutched in her hand. Surprisingly, it’s not Bickslow that gets up and joins her, but Mystogan instead, a careless smile coming back onto his face despite the threat of the Anima growing closer by the hour. The oldest of the three watches the twins separated by dimensions dance to the music for a few moments, every movement screaming freedom and comfort, before he shrugs to himself and makes his way over to them, his arms making their way around her and grabbing the vodka for himself.

This is the warmth and comfort she’s been craving ever since Laxus left, and she relishes in it now that it has finally been given to her. It’s something she’s never been able to have, so, whenever she gets the desire for such things, she quells it down and suffers without it. Now that she has it, she takes it in greedily, without a care in the whole of Earthland. With the game of strip Truth or Dare abandoned before they really got into the swing of it, the trio continue to consume all alcohol in sight - becoming worse than Fairy Tail’s resident drunk, Cana Alberona, herself - and dancing into the early hours of the next day. 

Mystogan is the first to pass out, and Jaelyn’s not sure whether it’s from the amount of alcohol he’s consumed or from pure exhaustion, but it’s still hilarious to both herself and Bickslow. The tall man is quick to grab a permanent marker and draw ridiculous images on the half-naked man’s body, focusing particularly on his face. Jaelyn is almost in stitches from laughing so much at his actions, getting another one and making her own markings on her twins’ counterpart, driving the pair into a drunken drawing contest (which Jaelyn somehow manages to win) that lasts them the best part of an hour. Even after that, there’s still plenty of bare skin on Mystogan, challenging her and Bickslow to make even more crude and malicious drawings with their markers.

Not long after, the pair are back up, dancing to their hearts’ content. With the wonderful array of songs, it ends up being yet another competition between the Mages, delighted laughter and tears being the prizes and applause to each attempt. Surprisingly, Bickslow actually ends up being a decent dancer, spinning Jaelyn around her open-plan living area with ease, a smirk on his lips as she laughs in wonder, trying not to trip over her own feet in her drunken state. At the end of the song, she’s suddenly dragged towards him, her body slamming against his and her hands flat against his bare chest, his resting on her waist.

“Bix, what are you doing?” she asks quietly, not meeting his gaze. “I don’t…”

A conflicted growling sigh leaves him. “Dammit, I know, neither do I, but…”

“You feel it too, don’t you?”

“Yeah.”

Looking up into those dark red eyes, she makes her decision that, just this once, she’ll let her instincts and relinquished inhibitions control her actions, knowing that there’s going to be no awkwardness between the two of them after this night. If it were anyone else, she’s not sure if she’d be able to look them in the eye again, but, with him, there’s never going to be a problem like that. Neither of them like each other in that way, but, in this one instance, the tension between them is downright palpable.

Jaelyn hums, tilting her head back. “Don’t expect this to happen again, Bix.”

“Of course not, little dragon,” the Seith Mage breathes against her lips. “You’re just my friend.”

Without further deliberation, their lips clash in a collision of pure lust. It’s different to kissing either Gray or Laxus, and it’s something that Jaelyn relishes in. Her hands slide up Bickslow’s bare chest and around his neck, her fingers latching onto a tuft of blue hair as his hands make their way under her baggy shirt to lightly hold her bare hips, thumbs rubbing circles on them. It’s so intimate that it makes her sigh into the kiss, all tension leaving her body at the realisation that, despite this being nothing more than a hook-up, he is going to treat her like a gentleman would instead of just taking what he wants.

Despite that, she’s quickly backed into a cupboard, Bickslow’s lithe body hovering in front of her. On instinct, her legs part further and wrap around his hips, pulling him flush against her and allowing her to feel just how excited he is. A low growl escapes her as his hands move to squeeze her behind before moving to her thighs, the action telling her to tighten her hold on him only seconds before he picks her up and carries her to her bedroom. Their ferocious kiss breaks, only for Jaelyn to latch onto the tanned skin older man’s throat, nipping and sucking, bringing forth delightful sounds from her prey.

Before long, they’re both completely bare to the other, and Bickslow is taking his time, making sure nothing he does triggers one or more of her horrific memories and has a repeat of what happened one time he teasingly did something he shouldn’t have. His fingers trace over the tattoo that curls from her forehead to her throat, and then over the two Guild Marks on her upper arms, but never to the one that was forced onto her lower back that marked her as its property. He doesn’t shy away from the patches of onyx scales or her plethora of scars. Every time he brushes over a sensitive place with either his fingers or his lips, she digs her fingers into his shoulders and makes a strange sound, caught between a shuddering breath and a mewling sound.

Jaelyn doesn’t let him have all the fun, and, she must admit, she cheats a little. With her legs encasing his hips, she digs the heels of her feet into his lower back, forcing him to stop treating her like she’s going to break. A growl rumbles up from her chest and she digs her nails into his shoulders, her head thrown back as her body arches, his mouth on her neck and collarbone, leaving behind a few markings of his own as she drags her nails down his back. A groan leaves the man above her at that, and she knows that she’s hit the nail on the head by the way his hold on her tightens and he stops being so gentle with her, making her relish in the freeing feeling.


	33. 30 • The Aftermath

Waking up to an unfamiliar warmth in her bed and the early morning sun coming in through her bedroom window, Jaelyn’s brow creases in confusion until she sits up and the sheet falls off her body to reveal her bare body. Looking over at a sleeping Bickslow, she smiles and shakes her head at how completely idiotic he looks: sprawled on his stomach like a starfish, his head facing towards her on a pillow, and mouth wide open as he snores slightly. He looks relaxed like this, and, dare she say, good-looking, but there’s no rise in romantic or sexual emotion or desire; just a friendly, well-versed observation.

Climbing off her bed, she tugs on a clean underwear and bra set before slipping into her black skinny jeans, combat boots and some random black shirt she finds on her floor. Picking up her clothes from the previous day, she shoves them into the clothes basket beside her door, contemplating for a moment before picking up Bickslow’s clothes as well, sitting them, neatly folded, atop the basket. Humming under her breath, she walks out into her open-plan living area, laughing when she finds Mystogan still fast asleep on her couch, one arm thrown over his eyes and one leg hanging over the edge of the couch, foot flat on the floor.

Unsurprisingly, she has no hangover, thanks to her ridiculous Dragon Slayer metabolism, but she knows that her guests are going to be a different story. She pulls three coffee mugs from her cupboard and boils the kettle, throwing a box of painkillers onto the bench on the other side of the designated kitchen area, already feeling as though she’s going to laugh when she sees the states the two males are going to be in when they become conscious. Pouring the boiled water into her half-made coffee, she stirs it for a few moments before chucking the spoon into the sink, startling Mystogan enough that he jolts awake and almost falls onto the hardwood floor.

“You alright there?” Jaelyn teases as she catches the male’s complaining groan of “fuck”. “You look like shit, Jellal.”

Mystogan sits up and massages his temples, eyes still closed. “Yeah, that’s about right.”

“Here. Painkillers and water.” She throws the box and a bottle of water at him, not surprised that he can still react quick enough to catch them in his current state. “Down the hatch, and then you can have some coffee, if you want.”

He sips the water, washing down the pills, and gives her a tired thumbs-up. “Sounds like a plan, big sis. Need to get over this before shit hits the fan.”

“So she was older than you, your Jaelyn? I suppose that makes sense, given that I’m the younger twin in Earth Land.”

“My Jaelyn also died, remember? Let’s hope that nothing like that happens to you.”

“But, if she died, doesn’t that mean I’m going to be forced to live? She deserved to live, and I deserve to die. Fate’s a cruel mistress, no?”

Bickslow walks out into the room, a strange look in his dark red eyes. “You don’t deserve to die, little dragon. You’ve just had one hell of a life that anyone would have gone insane having lived through. Give yourself some credit for making it this far, alright?”

Mystogan nods in agreement, climbing up off the couch and walking over to her, placing a hand on her shoulder with a small smile. “Not everything is black and white, and not everything is completely opposite in Earthland and Edolas. You and my sister are so very similar, and you both deserve to have lived; _ your _ twin deserved to live as much as mine and you.”

Jaelyn smiles at the two, floored by how much they care about her despite knowing almost all that she’s done. “You guys are fucking unbelievable… I’m gonna miss you guys so much if I end up getting my ass killed, and I really don’t want to think about breaking your hearts by dying.”

She’s quickly pulled into a hug, the way her head comes to rest on a chest and the way the arms are slightly more muscled than she was expecting telling her that it’s the Seith Mage. The arms that encase both herself and Bickslow from behind and the warmth that radiates from his lithe body tells her that it’s the Anima Mage. Sandwiched between two of the people she may well consider friends now, the Dark Dragon Slayer relaxes, closing her eyes and allowing herself to be vulnerable; feeling as though she has the right to be _ loved _by someone.

“Stop saying shit like that,” Bickslow berates, but there’s no real venom in his words, making it sound more like a plea. “You’re not checking out on us, alright, little dragon? You got a life to live.”

“Nothing is going to happen to you,” Mystogan assures, a pained tremor in his voice at the mere thought of having to lose his sister yet again. “Absolutely nothing, alright? Stop trying to say that you don’t deserve this damn life when you deserve it the most.”

Jaelyn, for once in her tumultuous life, allows herself to cry, but only in the safe, non-judgemental arms of Mystogan and Bickslow. However, when she looks back up, meeting Mystogan’s eyes, she can’t help but burst into laughter once her relatively slow mind catches up with her and she actually notices the black markings covering the male. Bickslow is confused until he really looks at the S-Class Mage, his bellowing laughter accompanying Jaelyn’s, his arms tightening around her as he begins to rock to and fro in his jubilance, dark red eyes closed and a maliciously delighted smile on his cheeky face.

“What are you laughing at?” Mystogan grumbles, the slight smile on his face betraying the irritation in his voice. “Surely nothing about this is amusing.”

Jaelyn pulls away from the Seith Mage and wipes her tear-filled eyes, finding it hard to meet the Anima Mage’s eyes without laughing. “No, no, none of _ this _ is funny, but, uh, I kinda forgot what we did to you last night until just now. Gods, Jellal, you look downright ridiculous.”

“What did you do to me?”

“It’s better if you go see for yourself,” Bickslow cackles, a mischievous glint in his dark eyes as he peers down at Mystogan, winking. “We did a bloody good job. Hope you like it.”

Mystogan’s expression drops and Jaelyn swears that he sweat-drops at Bickslow’s words. He almost trips over his own feet on the way to the bathroom, and then almost into the vanity before he freezes in front of the mirror. Jaelyn can imagine the look of utter horror on the man’s face, and the loud sound that comes from the bathroom makes it ten times more hilarious. Bickslow cackles maliciously and his tongue lolls out of his mouth, Guild Mark on show for the whole of Magnolia to see if they were to peer in through the kitchen window at the moment. Although, they might comment more on the way the two Mages are having to hold onto each other to keep themselves upright instead.

Pulling out a Magic Camera, Jaelyn manages to get a photo of a disastrous Mystogan before he has a shower to scrub the permanent black marker off his pale skin. In it, he’s flipping off the camera, but he also has a playful, cheeky smile on his face. His shirt is also off, revealing the plethora of crude and cartoonish drawings on his slim torso, as well as the still somewhat prominent scars that dare to peek through the black mass of lines. Despite such joviality, once the photo is taken, within those dark depths of Mystogan’s eyes blooms a panic and misery that Jaelyn finds hard to ignore.

Something is coming, and it is not going to be pleasant.


	34. 31 • Gildarts Shift

It’s not an alarm that wakes her the next day, but instead the feeling of falling. Her stomach lurches and a terrified sound is ripped from her lungs, her dark eyes flying open as her body, moving out of pure instinct, flings itself out of the bed and slams against the wall, trembling. In an instant, Mystogan is shoving the door open, his main Stave gripped tightly in his hand, dark eyes almost deadly, and his very posture radiating a protectiveness unseen for years; something rarer than Magic in his homeland.

“You alright, Jae?”

“Just a nightmare… I think…”

Mystogan’s gaze cuts through her, almost unreadable. “Falling?”

Jaelyn feels all air escape her lungs, eyes wide in horror. “You…? How…?”

“I don’t know, Jae, but it’s unnerving, yes? Something has decided we should share our dreams for however long I remain in Earthland, it seems.”

“What are you saying? The Anima, weren’t you closing them all? Aren’t you staying here with us? Fairy Tail still needs you, Jellal… I… I need you…”

Mystogan doesn’t say anything out loud, but the tight, painful smile that he gives Jaelyn makes her heart feel as though it’s been broken into too many pieces to heal. It thuds painfully in her chest and, along with that, it feels as though it constricts, preventing her from breathing properly despite her best attempts. She doesn’t want this man she’s come to see as her brother leave, no matter the reasoning behind it, and she hates the thought that, one day, there’s going to be nobody she cares for alive. He will be gone, Laxus, Gray and Bickslow will die of old age while she remains young, or on a dangerous job with no backup, and maybe, just maybe, her twin will live a decent life in however long their life will be.

No, she’s not going to think about that.

Forcing herself not to lash out at the male, Jaelyn shoves her feet into her boots and shoves past him, leaving her home without another word and making her way to the Guild Hall. Although she hasn’t exactly been diagnosed with anything, due to her instant distrust of people, she can tell that this is a result of all the hell she faced at the hands of malicious bastards who saw her as a plaything, and all the people she lost over the course of the years, preventing her from being able to build any sort of relationship with anyone at all. She wishes that it weren’t true more than anything, but the past cannot be changed, no matter how hard one may desire for it.

Not long after she finds a seat within the Guild Hall, she hears the bells begin to toll, and something tells her that there may well be a highlight to her day despite its dreary start. Smiling slightly, Jaelyn’s mind goes back to the time she first met Gildarts, which wasn’t long after she first came to Fairy Tail once she returned after her time 400 years in the past with Dragons. Coincidentally, that was also the day she met both Cana and Gray, and saw Natsu yet again after the yearly meetings between all the Slayers’ Dragons. She may or may not have almost badly wounded the older man when he accidentally scared her. He laughed it off, of course, and told her that she’d one day become a pretty powerful Mage - and he was right on the mark with that off-handed comment.

Natsu cheers. “Gildarts has come back!”

“Aye, sir,” Happy replies.

“Gildarts?” Lucy asks curiously. “I've never met him. Who is he?”

“He's Fairy Tail's second strongest Wizard,” Gray tells the blonde, smirking as he briefly looks over to Jaelyn before returning to the fact that Gildarts is returning.

“Wait, even stronger than Erza?” The Celestial Wizard frowns slightly. “Wait, if he’s the second strongest, then who’s the strongest in the Guild?”

Jaelyn rolls her eyes, not even surprised that the Heartfilia heiress hasn’t yet figured out who the strongest Mage in all of Fairy Tail is. They haven’t had that much to do with each other.

“I'm not even in his league,” Erza says with a small smile. “The strongest is Jaelyn. She’s more powerful than she seems, Lucy, and it’s best not to get on her bad side. Many have found that out the hard way, and it was quite brutal.”

“How dangerous can this guy get?” Lucy exclaims, her brown eyes moving to Jaelyn for a few moments. “How dangerous is _ she _?”

Jaelyn looks over at the Celestial Wizard and gives her a look. “How about you just ask me instead of attempting to talk about me behind my back, blondie?"

“Not like I care, but what's the celebration about?” Carla huffs.

“It's like a festival, Carla!” Wendy exclaims.

“Definitely one festive Guild…”

“It's only natural for everyone to celebrate,” Erza replies with a smile. “It's been about three years since he came back.”

“Three years?” Carla demands in disbelief. “What was he doing?”

“There are quests more difficult than S-Class, called SS-Class, but there are jobs even above those, called Ten-Year Quests.”

“Ten-Year Quests?” Wendy asks, confused.

“No one has completed them for more than ten years. That's why they're called Ten-Year Quests,” Jaelyn tells the small bluette, walking over to them. “Gildarts went on one even more difficult, a Hundred-Year Quest.”

“Hundred-Year Quest? No one has managed to complete it for a hundred years?!”

“Right.”

“Magnolia will now change to Gildarts Shift!” The familiar voice-over echoes through the town, warning everyone of what’s to come. “Residents, please move to the designated areas!”

Jaelyn moves to the window to watch the spectacle, eyes following the city as Magnolia splits in half, leaving an obstacle free strip leading straight for the Guild Hall. She thinks about the time it was too slow in happening and the Crash Mage ended up walking straight through someone’s house, turning it into a multitude of cubes. Luckily no one was hurt, but Fairy Tail ended up footing the bill to rebuild the house - not that it was a huge issue like many made it out to be at the time, but rather as an apology for the man’s clumsiness.

Within seconds of the cloaked man entering the Guild Hall, Jaelyn knows that something is off with him; his scent has changed something shocking and he’s walking with a heavy limp, making her brown crease in worry for her father-figure. Natsu is quick to challenge Gildarts to a fight, which surprises no one who knows the idiot, but it seems as though the latter has more pressing matters on his mind as he walks straight up to Mira with a confused look on his face.

“Miss, I was pretty sure there was a guild named Fairy Tail around here,” the Crash Mage says.

“This is it,” Mira says with a bright smile. “Oh, and I'm Mirajane.”

“Mira? Oh! You've really changed! And wow, the Guild is brand-new!”

Natsu runs up to the man. “Gildarts!”

“Natsu, is it?” Gildarts asks with a soft smile. “Been a while!”

“I told you to fight me!”

“Maybe another time.”

Gildarts throws Natsu up at the ceiling and none are surprised by it. Instead, everyone bursts into laughter and continues to celebrate as Natsu falls to the floor, grinning like a mad man. The Crash Mage has always been a sort of father-figure for a lot of the younger members of Fairy Tail, even with his frequent disappearances on all sorts of difficult jobs that not many others could stomach. Jaelyn knows that it must be hard on Cana, who is actually Gildarts’ daughter and not just someone who sees him as a father-figure due to their parentless states, and she can’t help but feel, in a way, sorry for the brunette Card Mage.

“Gildarts!” Makarov calls.

“Oh, Master!” Gildarts walks over to the man. “Long time no see.”

“How did the job go?”

“No good. It's impossible for me.”

Jaelyn’s stomach drops at the words, her eyes narrowing in apprehension. The Hundred-Year Quest should have been a walk in the park for someone like Gildarts, but this? She wasn’t expecting this...

“I see,” Makarov says with a frown. “Even you couldn't handle it?”

“Sorry, this'll be bad for our reputation,” Gildarts says with an embarrassed smile, scratching the back of his head.

“No, I'm just happy you came back safe and sound. You're the first one I know that's ever come back from this quest alive.”

“I wanna get some rest, so I'm heading home. Man, I'm beat.” He stops briefly and turns to face Natsu and the others. “Natsu! Come to my place later. I've brought souvenirs! Now, pardon me.” 

Gildarts looks over at Jaelyn before he walks straight through the wall, shattering it, and she instantly understands what he means: he wants her to go with him, right now. Jaelyn is instantly on her feet and out the door, following Gildarts through Magnolia without hesitation. It’s not far to the outskirts of the city, or to his one-room house that backs onto the trees; a peaceful place and a sanctuary that Jaelyn uses frequently whether he’s there or not.

Once the door’s open and he’s inside, her feet don’t falter as they carry her in and her body deposits itself on one of the two chairs at the table, tired, dark green eyes watching the older man limp around as he tidies up a little. She doesn’t push for the man to tell her just what’s going on, but she’s feeling her apprehension and irritation rising to new levels the longer he remains silent. This man is like a father to her, and he’s hurt more than he’s letting it on, which is making her worry more than she probably has to about the Crash Mage. The Dark Dragon Slayer huffs and clears her throat, the action somewhat startling her host as if he’d forgotten she was there.

“You want to tell me, or do you want me to find out for myself?” Jaelyn growls at the older man. “You choose, because I’m fine with it either way.”

Gildarts shrugs and takes off his cloak in response, making her eyes widen in horror.

She jumps to her feet and almost flies over to him, her scarred hands hovering over where the metal meets his flesh on his arm. “What the fuck, Gildarts?! What the hell happened to you?!”

“A Dragon, and not one of the ones you and Natsu used to tell me about. This bastard was merciless.”

“Don’t tell me… Black with blue markings?”

“Yeah, how’d you know?”

Jaelyn feels her stomach rebel against her wishes, her hand coming to rest atop it as she attempts to steady her slightly radicalised breathing. In a heartbeat, Gildarts is helping the young girl sit down, this time on his bed, which is more comfortable than some stupid chair, and handing her a bucket in case she actually is sick. He pulls his cloak back on, hiding his wounds, and sits down beside her on the end of the bed, metal hand absently running along her spine. He’s not hesitant to comfort her after everything they’ve been through, and all that he’s seen and been told about by the girl in his arms.

Neither are sure how long they sit there in those same positions, the only indication of a large amount of time passing being the sound of Natsu arriving in his usual fashion - loudly. Jaelyn remains on the bed as Gildarts stands and greets the pink-haired Slayer, but she doesn’t exactly miss out on hearing the conversation topics the pair share - one of which being Lisanna, which almost sends Natsu packing, not that anyone can blame the boy. She was his best friend, and she died two years ago on a job with Mira and Elfman. What stops Natsu from leaving is Gildarts bringing up the Dragon he met on the Hundred-Year Quest, and Jaelyn’s stomach flips at the mention of it, a choked sound leaving her as she fights back her body’s instinctual reaction even without hearing the monster’s name.

“I don't think it's the red one that you're searching for,” Gildarts continues, sparing a worried look for Jaelyn at her reaction. “It was a black Dragon.”

“W-Where?” Natsu asks in excitement.

“The holy Mt. Zonia, and, thanks to it, I failed the job.” Gildarts catches Natsu as the younger turns to leave. “And what'll you do?”

“Isn't it obvious? I'll ask it where Igneel is.”

“It's gone. It flies around the continent, or maybe even the world.”

Natsu rips out of Gildarts’ hold. “Even so, there might be some clue!”

“Natsu, take a look at this.” The Crash Mage strips off his black cloak and Jaelyn catches the glint of the fire on the metal, not even dulled by the multitude of bandages covering most of his upper body. “It basically all happened in a flash. My left arm and leg, and my internal organs, too… I don't know what kind of guy this Igneel fellow is, but the black one is an enemy of humanity. Of that, there's no doubt. Plus, a human can't beat it.”

“The ones who can defeat them are the Dragon Slayers! With my Magic, a black Dragon isn't anything.”

“If you really think that, then I won't stop you.”

Natsu runs off without a second thought.

“Damn it! Natsu! Happy.”

The blue Exceed pauses at the door, turning to look at the Crash Mage, and listening to his advice of giving Natsu his support. The cat nods and flies after his best friend, leaving Jaelyn and Gildarts alone in the older man’s house.

“A human can't beat it,” Gildarts mutters. “A Dragon might be able to. And one day, Natsu will…”

“Natsu will end up like me: turning into a Dragon,” Jaelyn says in a small voice, standing and placing the bucket on the ground, her dark eyes becoming haunted. “Every other Dragon Slayer faces the same fate thanks to our stupid Magic, but they don’t know that.”

“What are you talking about, Jaelyn?”

“Before I killed her, the Dragon that taught me my Magic warned me that I would one day become a Dragon myself, faster than the others because she wasn’t going to “follow through with others’ plan”. She told me that I may well become like Acnologia himself… He’s the Dragon who did that to you.”

Without waiting for a reply to her confession, Jaelyn leaves, walking the streets of Magnolia until she comes across Mystogan sitting outside her house, staring up at the tumultuous grey sky with a dreadful expression. Sighing, she almost drops onto the seat beside him, resting her head against his shoulder as she follows his gaze towards the heavens, dreading the days to come. With the sky looking like this, there’s only one reason behind it, and no one is safe from its wrath except for Dragon Slayers, which, in itself, is actually rather odd.

“It’s coming, isn't it? The Anima you couldn’t close?”

“Yes, and it’s going to destroy everything in its wake.”


	35. 32 • Anima and Edolas

It’s nightfall the day after Gildarts returns that it all goes to hell in a handbasket. There’s a rumbling, tumultuous storm circling above Magnolia, and it’s only here to bring despair. Everything is about to become a desolate plane, and there’s going to be no one left in what remains of the city except for the Dragon Slayers, the Exceeds and Mystogan. Before long, the entirety of Earth Land will be reduced to nothing, and life will most likely cease to exist if the Anima is allowed to persist. It’s going to wipe out an entire planet just to keep another alive, and it’s going to destroy those who are unfortunate enough to be left behind.

Jaelyn looks towards the Fairy Tail Guild Hall with regret before turning her attention to the Anima Mage beside her, watching as too many emotions to count fly across his usually stoic face, making her worry about this oncoming storm more than she was before. Mystogan’s expression settles upon something grim and despairing, but all the while composed, contradicting but still more expressive than nearly any other time anyone has managed to see his face.

“The storm’s worse than before,” the Dragon Slayer murmurs, wishing that it were a normal storm so she could feel the electricity in the air. “Everything’s about to go to hell in a handbasket.”

“It’s time. The Anima is upon us, and there’s nothing we can do to stop such a thing,” his deep voice rumbles out, starting strong but trailing off as he registers a familiar Magic. “Wendy? What’s she doing in Magnolia?”

“She joined Fairy Tail after everything with Nirvana and the Oración Seis.”

Mystogan grips his main Stave tightly and makes his way through Magnolia, Jaelyn barely half a step behind him, both heading towards where they can sense both Wendy’s and Carla’s Magical Energy. The young girl appears to be almost pleading with her friend, or at least having some sort of conversation that’s bordering on an argument, and that prevents her from realising the approach of the two other Mages until a single word passes through Mystogan’s lips, disbelief writhing in the baritone voice.

“Wendy…”

“That voice,” Wendy gasps, spinning around to face the two Fernandes children, one from a parallel world and one broken beyond repair.

“I never would have thought you would come to this Guild.”

“Jellal!”

Carla’s eyes widen in horror. “W-What's the meaning of this? I thought you were captured!”

“That was a different person than me,” Mystogan replies.

Wendy steps towards him, brown eyes widened in disbelief. “But, I mean, you're clearly Jellal!”

“I am Mystogan, a member of Fairy Tail. Seven years ago… While I knew hardly anything about this world, I gave my name to you as Jellal.”

“This world?” Carla demands, eyes narrowing.

“You don't mean… You're the one from seven years ago? You're the Jellal from back then?” Jaelyn smiles as the small, blue-haired girl throws herself at Mystogan, hugging the older male tightly. “I… I've missed you so much!”

Mystogan smiles slightly, reciprocating the hug for a brief moment. “I'm sorry I wasn't able to see you, but now is not the time for happy reunions. Get away from this city, without delay!”

“Jellal!”

“I have failed in my mission. Anima!”

“What?” Carla asks, horror seeping back into her voice. “What's wrong?”

Wendy remains stubborn and steadfast. “No! I'm coming with you!”

“You can't, little one,” Jaelyn berates, speaking for the first time as she places her hand on the younger girls’ shoulder. “It'll be dangerous to come with us. The Anima has grown too large for Mystogan’s Power alone to suppress it. Before long, Magnolia will be wiped out.”

“W-What do you mean? I don't know what you're saying at all!”

“It's over. The destruction is already certain.”

Mystogan stares at the girl he saved with a pained expression. “At the very least, you could…”

“What about Fairy Tail? What about everyone in the Guild?”

Before either Mage can stop her, Wendy turns on her heel and flees back to the Fairy Tail Guild Hall, where everyone is still celebrating her joining the renowned Guild. Jaelyn’s hands clench into fists by her sides and she growls out a harsh breath through her equally as clenched teeth, Mystogan sighing in resignation as he watches the twelve-year-old run to warn her friends. One look at the sky tells the siblings separated by dimensions that Wendy isn't going to make it in time; all she’s going to find in the wake of it’s Lacrimation is Natsu and Happy, confused as to what’s happened to those they were just with.

It happens in the blink of an eye, and it’s almost hypnotising.

The buildings and the people of Magnolia begin to seemingly disintegrate before being sucked up into the dreadful Anima portal that has taken residence above their beloved city. Jaelyn feels a pinching, painful sensation in her gut, increased by now having two people in the city whose pain she’s been Cursed to feel, as she watches the Fairy Tail Guild Hall be sucked through the portal, Bickslow and Gray becoming a part of the steadily growing Lacrima in Edolas.

Before too long, there’s nothing where the proud city once stood, save for residue of the Anima’s certain Magic and those who were somehow able to escape being sucked through it. Where her home once stood, Jaelyn finds an empty space, and all the memories of the past few days come rushing back anew, reminding her that she’s just lost her home and two of the few people she loves. What also registers within her mind is that she has yet to lose the most important person to her other than her brother, and that he’s standing right beside her, a pained look in his eyes as he watches Natsu, Wendy, Happy and Carla fly through the Anima into Edolas, stubbornly refusing to let their friends die.

Jaelyn inhales, preparing for a resigned sigh, but it becomes caught in her throat as she catches the all too familiar scent of Fairy Tail’s resident Celestial Mage. Without telling Mystogan, her feet move of their own accord and she runs towards where she knows the blonde to be, the Anima Mage following her without much trouble and without asking questions. It’s only a matter of seconds before the Dragon Slayer catches sight of Lucy and one of her spirits, a giant clock by the looks of it, and something akin to relief dully thuds in the cobalt-haired teen’s chest.

“Lucy!” Jaelyn slows to a stop in front of the seventeen-year-old girl. “How the hell didn’t you get sucked into the Anima?!”

The blonde Mage turns to Jaelyn with shock. “Jaelyn? What the hell happened to Magnolia? Where is everyone?”

Mystogan walks over before either can respond to their equal confusion. “Lucy, you’re safe? I am Mystogan.”

“Mystogan?”

“This is the first time we've greeted each other, yes?”

Jaelyn looks over her shoulder at the Mage. “We don’t really have time for this, Jellal. Tell her what she needs to know so we can get on with finding our _ other _ resident Slayer, who I so regret having the same Magic as.” She realises what she said as soon as the words leave her mouth, and her dark gaze then pins the blonde in place. “If you tell _ anyone _ , and I mean _ anyone _, that I’m a Dragon Slayer, you’re going to have hell to pay, little blondie.”

Lucy blinks once, twice, and then nods. “I mean, I kind of figured you weren’t a Darkness Mage like you said. You give off a vibe like Natsu and Wendy, and Gajeel. Not to mention Laxus, Lavinia and that snake guy from the Oración Seis.”

“That ‘snake guy’ is one of my best friends, so I’d watch it, blondie. Anyway, we don’t have time for this.” Jaelyn looks back at her brother from another world. “Jellal, tell her what she needs to know. I’m going to find Gajeel.”

Leaving Mystogan to deal with the Celestial Mage, Jaelyn is quick to run through the barren landscape, following Gajeel’s scent like a bloodhound. It’s not hard because he’s just as stunned as she’d expect him to be, and that means he’s only wandering around a little, nowhere near enough to have this take more time than needed. The first thing she sees is his spiky mane of black hair, and then his bright red eyes as he turns to watch her almost barrel into him, not slowing down enough in time.

“You good, blueberry?” Gajeel asks with a smirk. “Never seen you so excited to see me.”

Jaelyn rolls her eyes and crosses her arms over her chest, sleeves riding up and revealing some patches of unbandaged pitch black scales. “We kind of have a little problem at the moment, so now’s not really the time for your teasing and sarcasm.”

“Hadn’t noticed. I thought this was how Magnolia usually looked.”

“Gajeel!”

“Alright! Sheesh… What do you expect me to do?”

“We’re going to send you to Edolas,” Mystogan’s deep voice informs as he walks up to Jaelyn and Gajeel. “You must find the Lacrima the residents of Magnolia have been turned into and use your Dragon Slayer Magic to return them to normal.”

Gajeel’s narrow red eyes almost turn into slits. “You’re…”

Jaelyn shoots the other Slayer a glare. “We don’t have time for you to go all fanboy right now. Go save your buddies, and we’ll talk about this another time, yeah?”

Mystogan pulls a glass container of X-Balls from one of his pockets. “This will allow you to retain your Magic in Edolas. Give it to anyone you run into.” Without waiting for a response, Mystogan sends Gajeel through the Anima. “Is there anyone else in Magnolia?”

She sniffs and shakes her head. “Only us. I hope you have more of those X-Balls, Jel. Kind of need one if you’re going to want me to be able to fight against whoever has Magic in that hellhole you call home.”

“Of course I do.” He hands her one and she’s quick to take it. “However, you’re not going to be fighting unless necessary. Our plan is a little different to that of everyone else.”

“Please tell me you’re joking,” she says dryly. “We’re not fighting? Well, I suppose that’s a bit of a relief. I don’t want to go killing anyone over there, except maybe that tyrannic asshole you call a father.”

His lips quirk into a small smile. “We have a much more important role to play.”

**• • • • • •**

**For those of you who aren't aware, the word "lacrima" actually means "tears."**


	36. 33 • Myth and Magic of Edolas

Arriving in Edolas is a complete shock to Jaelyn, her skin almost burning at the lack of Magic in the air, but whatever Tartaros did to her is thrumming with delight underneath the protective organ. It’s not what she expected, floating islands and all that, but it’s beautiful in its own right, and she only has a few seconds to take it all in before both she and Mystogan hit the hard ground of one of the many islands. Huffing when they finally stop rolling, she sits up and stares out at the most magical place she’s seen since Loke and her visited Karen’s grave, and it’s ironic, because this will soon be a place without Magic.

“Your home is more beautiful than you told me,” Jaelyn teases, smiling up at the taller male from where she’s remains sitting on the edge of the island. “I thought we decided to be completely honest with each other,  _ big brother _ .”

“Everything beautiful has its poison,” Mystogan says bitterly, dark green eyes darker than usual as they take in the homeland he left behind seven years ago to save Earthland from his malicious father. “You and I know that better than most, Jae.”

She swallows harshly as he whistles sharply, a giant flying beast making its way over to them a few seconds later, a strange sort of saddle on it’s back. The tension exuding from Mystogan puts Jaelyn on edge, but, all the same, there’s no one else here that she trusts more, so she climbs onto the flying beast alongside him and head towards what the Slayer can only say is the Royal City. With the amount of noise coming from the rising city, it’s the safest assumption to make. The other would be Extalia, but it seems too large for Exceeds to reside within its walls.

They make their way through the skies, searching for a large enough remnant of Anima to return the Lacrima crystal to Earth Land. On their way, they catch sight of Natsu, Wendy, the rescued Fairy Tail Mages and the Exceeds somehow preventing the Lacrima with the rest of Magnolia and the Guild from being rammed into Extalia, making Jaelyn sigh in relief. Familiar Magic resonates from the battle, and she smiles at the feeling of Gray’s Magic, seeming stronger than ever at this moment, and Gajeel’s Magic, focused on battling a rather tough looking Exceed that could only be Panther Lily - the one who saved Mystogan, and attempted to also save the Jaelyn of this world.

The battle gives Mystogan and Jaelyn enough time to send the Lacrima through the largest remnant of the Anima portal they can find, thus restoring all of Magnolia and its residents to normal. Even though they’re, quite literally, a world apart, she feels yet another sharp, painful sensation in her gut, and she knows that Bickslow has been returned to his usual state in the returned Guild Hall within Magnolia. There’s a pang of confusion from the older Mage, most likely from the sensation of being returned to Earth Land, but there’s something off about it - as if he’s receiving feelings from Jaelyn instead of muted pain.

Wrapping her arms around Mystogan’s middle and resting the side of her face against his upper back, she closes her eyes and hugs him tightly, pushing such intrusive thoughts and possibilities from her tumultuous mind. Jaelyn knows that this may well be one of the last times she gets to hold her brother, and it doesn’t exactly bother her that this man she’s holding, although he looks like her brother, he’s no such thing to her, by flesh and blood at least. Still, if this is the closest she can ever get, she’ll take all he has to give her.

A familiar cry arises and startles her. “Mystogan! Jaelyn!”

The Legion, the strange creature the two are atop, flies down towards where the giant Lacrima once was, allowing Mystogan and Jaelyn to climb off, the former helping the latter like the gentleman and Prince that he is. It’s almost instantly that Gray is by her side, blue eyes searching her body for any kind of wound, even though he’d be able to feel the pain if she were, and she can’t help but smile at the display, punching him lightly on the shoulder.

“We searched for the remaining tear from the giant Anima to return everything to the way it was,” Mystogan informs. “I apologize for my lateness. Without everyone's help, I wouldn't have made it. I give you my thanks.”

“The way it was?” Lucy asks.

Jaelyn blinks once, twice, and sighs, pinching the bridge of her nose. “How blonde are you…?”

“That's right. The Lacrima has passed once again through the Anima and returned to how it was in Earth Land. Everything is over.”

Everyone within earshot, Wizard and Exceed alike, to erupt in cheers, calling for those who somehow didn’t hear the initial cry about having protected Extalia to join in with the festivities. Jaelyn smiles softly and watches with loving eyes as Mystogan and Panther Lily reunite after almost a decade apart, but it quickly turns amused when the latter outs the former as the long lost Prince of Edolas. As usual, nothing good tends to last long, so, when Erza Knightwalker appears and seriously wounds the large Exceed, the cheer is instantly stomped out and everyone is on the defensive.

“In the end, you are one of the Fallen. Just an Exceed,” the woman spits, grey eyes stormy. “You've forgotten the debt you owe our king for saving you, and instead turn your blade against him.”

“It's the other Erza,” Natsu cries.

“Her name is Knightwalker,” Mystogan informs.

“Lily,” the Exceed Queen, Chagot, exclaims. “How dare you!”

Erza Requips and stalks towards her counterpart. “Queen, leave him to me!”

The counterpart grins, aiming her spear at the woman. “Scarlet!”

“Knightwalker…”

“Wait, Erza.” Mystogan steps forward, putting himself in the firing line. “You intend to aim your spear at me, the Prince of Edolas, Erza Knightwalker?”

The short-haired woman is left speechless. “Prince?”

“Prince, you say?” the voice of Edolas’ King chortles. “Don't make me laugh! I don't think of you as my son!”

“That's the voice of the King! Where is he?”

“After 7 years of hiding in faraway lands, you have some nerve skulking back here! I know that you've been going around Earthland sealing off Anima! You've betrayed your country! You sold out your own kingdom!”

“Your Anima plan was a failure,” Mystogan retorts. “Continuing to fight would be meaningless, yes?”

“Meaning? The meaning of fighting?” Faust cackles. “This is not a fight. It is retaliation against those who defy the King! A one-sided extermination! No matter who stands in my way, I will eliminate them. Even you! There won't be any trace left!”

“Father…”

“I am no father. I am the King of Edolas! Yes, I'll wipe you out here, and then no one will be left to stop the Anima in Earthland! I'll suck up another giant Lacrima, and then fuse it with the Exceed! I can do it as many times as I want!”

Jaelyn snarls. “That's…”

“Nothing is impossible for the King! The King's power is absolute!”

“That shape…” Mystogan says in horror. “That Magic Power… It can be none other!”

“M-My word…” Panther Lily exclaims. “That's… That's!”

“Droma Anim!”

“Droma Anim?” Erza asks.

“It means "Dragon Knight" in our native tongue. It's a hardened armoured Dragon, or rather, it's in the shape of one.”

“Hardened armour? What does that mean?”

Jaelyn’s skin crawls at the next words to leave Mystogan’s mouth.

“Special Anti-Wizard Lacrima,” he says in a tight voice. “Wizard Cancelers nullify all external Magic! It's a suit of armour you can pilot! The King's inside of it, controlling Droma Anim!”

The Dark Dragon Slayer glares towards where the Droma Anim stands in the midst of what appears to be an old coliseum, and oh how she wishes that it were possible for her to destroy that blasted thing with a single strike, but she knows that there’s something much more important for her and Mystogan to do. Turning her back on the fight, something that’s extremely hard for her given that she was practically bred for fights such as this, she walks over to where Panther Lily is hunched over, bleeding severely from his wound.

With her jaw clenched and her muscles tensed, she pulls rolls of bandages from the small bag she keeps with her at all times and, without consulting her rather large patient, she begins to wrap them around his middle, staunching the blood flow as best she can. Whilst doing so, she feels his dark eyes staring down at her in confusion, trying to recall where he knows her from, and one brief look up at the Exceed makes his eyes widen in disbelief and his lips part in disbelief.

She can’t help but snarl when Faust begins talking again, threatening and mocking Fairy Tail and the Exceeds, but a sting of pride strikes her when she hears Mystogan telling everyone to leave, followed by his  _ Three Layered Magic Circle: Mirror Water _ Spell. Yet, as she thought, it does nothing to the Droma Anim, but it still gives everyone the hope and fight they need in order to defeat such a ruthless enemy as the current King of Edolas.

Looking over her shoulder, her dark green eyes widen in horror as a wave of something comes flying towards them, and she’s instantly on her feet, latching onto Mystogan and about to erect a  _ Hexagon Barrier _ when whatever it is collides with their bodies. The cobalt-haired teens go flying off the floating island and plumet towards the hard ground below, cries of their names sounding from their comrades above, as well as Faust telling them that they’re better to crawl; wandering until they die.

Before they can collide with yet another hard surface, Jaelyn lets out a cry of “ _ Dark Mass _ ” and cushions their fall with the Magic. Mystogan lands on top of her seconds after she makes contact with the Darkness Magic, forcing a grunt from her and expelling the majority of the air from her lungs, leading to her having a coughing fit. Shoving the male off her, she slides to the ground, cutting her Spell off and groaning in irritation, having known that this version of her brother would pull such a stupid stunt; a stunt that has Jellal Fernandes written all over it. Mystogan pulls Jaelyn to her feet and the two dust themselves off before making their way through the forest.

“You’re a damned idiot for pulling shit like that,” Jaelyn huffs. “Throwing the fight on purpose? You better never do that kind of fucking thing again today, or there will be hell to pay.”

“I didn’t have much better options,” Mystogan replies dryly, sparing her a look. “I can’t guarantee that such a thing will not be necessary, and you know that.”

“Yeah, I know, Jel. We better wait for Lily, he’s on his way after us.”

“Yes, I suppose we should, but we can’t wait too long. It’s not that I don’t have faith in Natsu’s ability to destroy everything he comes in contact with, but the Droma Anim isn't exactly something he can destroy easily.”

“He’ll be fine,” Panther Lily informs, shoving branches aside and walking over to them. “What is it that we must do, Prince Jellal and Princess Jaelyn?”

Jaelyn grins over at the Black Exceed. “I’m not the Jaelyn from Edolas, so I’m no Princess, but thanks for that ego boost, Lily.”

Mystogan smiles in amusement. “We must head to the castle. There’s a chamber beneath it we need to get to.”

Jaelyn almost skips after the Anima Mage as they continue through the forest, Panther Lily following dutifully behind the two. They share small talk, and the Slayer comes to find that she rather likes this Exceed, allowing herself to relax around the one who saved Mystogan seven years ago. She tells the Exceed of Earth Land, but there’s an underlying bitterness to her voice that gives him the feeling that she harbours great hatred for the place in which she was born and raised. He watches the way she carries herself, and he’s quick to deduce that she’s been tortured, and groomed to be an almost impossible to beat soldier - no, more like a weapon that’s impossible to take apart and prevent from being used to extinguish the lives of those she comes in contact with.

Before long, the castle comes into view and the three know that their journey is soon to come to an end as they make their way through the passageways into the rising building. Mystogan, Jaelyn and Panther Lily enter the chamber in the King's castle where the Anima portals are created, and the Anima Mage successfully reverses the Anima. Jaelyn watches the whole ordeal with a blank face, unaware of the devastating and horrible repercussions reversing the Anima will have on the lives of those in both Edolas and Earth Land.

Mystogan stares up at the giant sphere cradled by stone hands above them. “I’ve reversed the Anima. It will suck everything with Magic in it back into Earth Land.”

Jaelyn’s stomach drops and she turns to stare, horrified, at Mystogan with tear-filled eyes, not having realised that he was truly going to go through with this ridiculous plan of his. “No… I’m not leaving you behind! I will use up all my goddamn Magic to stay here if I have to!”

“No, you won’t.”

“How the hell can you be so sure?!”

Mystogan looks down at the girl who’s filled in the hole his Jaelyn left in his heart when she died, and he’s almost in agony having to leave her behind; having to send her away just as her Jellal did to her when they were younger. “You won’t abandon Bickslow and Gray, or Sting and Rogue, or Laxus, Lavinia and Erik, and we both know that you will lose your brother by staying in Edolas.”

Jaelyn shakes her head and slams her fists against his chest. “I will lose you by returning to Earth Land, and I don’t want to do that…”

“Listen to me, you have more than them for reasons to go back to Earthland, and we both know it. You can’t do it without-”

“Shut up… Just shut up!”

“Jaelyn…”

“I know that without Bix, they won’t have a father… but I don’t want to leave you behind just so they can have that.”

Mystogan pulls the Slayer into a hug and rests his head against hers, meeting the eyes of Panther Lily over her shoulder and sharing an understanding look. “The S-Class Trials are coming up in maybe two months, and you need to be there for that. You’re going to be the final one they all face this year because I won’t be there, Laxus is gone, Lavinia is in Bosco, and Gildarts is going to be in the caves.”

Jaelyn clutches at the Anima Mage, not wanting to let him go after everything they’ve been through since they first met. “Jellal… I’m going to name them after you, you know that right? There’s no way that Bix will disagree with me about that. He knows how important you are to me.”

“The child of a Dragon Slayer and a Seith Mage named after someone like me? Are you sure about that?”

“Of course. You’re as much their uncle as my Jellal is, even if you’re not exactly blood because we’re from different worlds, and nothing is going to change that.”

** • • • • • •**

**Hey, superwolves!**

**This is yet another thing I wasn’t planning on doing, but, hey, what’s a bit of reality in with this fantasy world? It’s never 100% effective no matter how much you want it to be, and I kind of wanted to have a little something to play around with. Despite that, it’s not going to end like you think - nothing is going to turn out the way you want it to in this story.**

**Honestly, I want for her to both have the baby and to not have the baby, but, honestly, I’m not sure how I’d go about it considering that this is a Laxus/Jaelyn story and not a Bickslow/Jaelyn story.**

**\- Chey xo -**


	37. 34 • The False Demon Lord of Edolas

Jaelyn stands between Mystogan and Panther Lily as the former reveals his plan for containing the panic that has arisen from the citizens of Edolas: to paint himself as the villain who stole away Edolas' Magic, and to be publicly executed by Panther Lily, who would then mediate the misunderstandings between the Humans and the Exceeds and become the new King of Edolas.

"The citizens will be in a panic," Mystogan muses. "Not many Humans can adapt so quickly to a changing world. That's why they need a new leader; a new King for a new world. To soothe the unease of the citizens, and lead them to happiness..."

"A new King. I see," Panther Lily says slowly. "And it will be you, Prince?"

"No. Not me. That would not be possible for me, who did not walk with this world. Furthermore, I have no right. To calm the rioting masses, we need someone to play both the hero, and the villain."

"Villain and hero?"

"The one who exposes and punishes the villain who plunged the world into chaos will become a hero, and that hero will unite the people. He'll become King."

"W-Who will be the villain and the hero?"

"You already know that, don't you? I am the evil villain who overthrew the King and stole the Magic Power from this world, and you are suited to heal the misunderstandings and prejudice between the races. You will execute me, the one who destroyed the world, and then you will become the world's King! You must execute me, the one who caused this turmoil, in front of the panicking citizens. As a member of the Royal Army As an Exceed Quell the panic, and lead the people. Become King of a new world, without Magic Power."

Jaelyn turns her head away and catches sight of a strange looking Exceed standing in the doorway, only his head visible whilst his body is hidden behind the frame, and she knows what she must do to prevent this outcome. Using _Telepathy_, she contacts the cat, who she finds out is called Nadi, and tells him to go find the other Dragon Slayers - to tell them of the plan Mystogan has concocted and is more than prepared to go through with in order to protect the people of this world. In response, Nadi nods and scurries off as quickly as he can, desperate to stop the Prince from doing such a stupid thing that would end with him dying right before the eyes of those who love him.

She feels about ready to bash the heads of the two idiots before her together and snarl at them to use their brains: make her the "villain" and let them both live their lives. After everything, dying to protect someone she loves - everyone she loves, really - is the one way she'd like to go, and not die in some pointless fight years down the track. Knowing that Jellal is going to spend the rest of his life in prison makes this decision easier, and, even though they're worlds apart, she can feel him agreeing with her through their bond despite him still not having all his memories back.

"You must execute me, the one who caused this turmoil, in front of the panicking citizens. As a member of the Royal Army - as an Exceed - quell the panic, and lead the people," Mystogan continues. "Become King of a new world, without Magic Power."

"How could you seriously say such nonsense, Prince?!" Panther Lily bellows.

"If I wasn't prepared to die, I wouldn't have gone through with this."

"I refuse! This is foolishness! Why must I kill you? There is no way I could do it."

"No, you are capable of doing it."

"And what do you know about me?"

"As an Exceed, you saved my life as a child. You are a man who knows how precious life is, regardless of the race one belongs to."

"And you're telling me to keep living my life bearing that cross on my back?!"

"You are the only one strong enough to overcome that. Please understand... Someone has to do it."

"Then do it yourself. You're suited to be King."

"I brought the world to ruin!"

"You did it thinking it was for the best. Now is the time we need someone with your will, strong enough to risk your own life for the sake of Edolas! If you brought the world to ruin, then take responsibility! And you don't do that by dying. You do it by leading the world once again!"

Panther Lily continues to vehemently object to the plan, instead offering to become the "villain" while Mystogan acts as the "hero." However, Mystogan also refuses to this, arguing that his plan would allow Panther Lily to live a happy life, but Panther Lily retorts by saying that he wishes for Mystogan to be happy as well. Having reached an impasse, Mystogan concedes that his plan was faulty from the start. Jaelyn smiles slightly in relief, glad for them to have reached this point before she offered herself to become the "villain" of this story - a rather befitting ending for her after all she's been through and done.

The three are suddenly approached by a guard who explains that there are riots beginning to occur within the Royal City, and the three are quick to leave the chamber and head for the place with the best view of the City. Jaelyn hears the guards murmuring to each other, trying to figure out who exactly Mystogan and herself are, and she can't help but smile in amusement at their pathetic attempts. Mystogan and Panther Lily continue to talk, but their companion is too caught up in her own thoughts to keep track of what they’re saying, and she thinks that it may be for the best.

Her eyes widen in shock when she catches sight of Edolas, or, well, what used to be Edolas. There are bright yellow tendrils being sucked from the earth and through the Anima in the sky, chunks of buildings and even the ground accompanying the Magical Power being taken. Jaelyn’s hands tremble as they come to rest upon the top of the stone barrier around the upper walkway, her eyes struggling to send the information to her brain properly. Mystogan is soon beside her, his dark eyes as disbelieving and horrified as his other worldly twin sister, unable to comprehend what he’s seeing.

“How many people are rioting?” Panther Lily demands.

“T-Three people,” one of the guards manages to stutter out in fear.

“Just three people? Why haven't you stopped them?”

“W-Well, they're really strong, and-”

By some strange feat, a familiar voice echoes out from within the city, and Jaelyn instantly knows what’s going on, a hand coming up to cover her eyes. “I am the Great Demon King Dragneel! I've taken all this world's Magic Power!”

Mystogan’s eyes widen further and he straightens. “Natsu!”

“I'm the one who beat your King! Maybe I'll let him live just as a special favour!” Natsu cackles. “Redfox! Marvel! Destroy the city, my loyal servants!”

“What are you doing? Stop this!”

“Destroy more of the city! My servants!”

Jaelyn hears Gajeel snap back at the younger Slayer, and Natsu’s quick to make a comeback, amusing the third Slayer. She listens as the residents of Edolas yell for Natsu to return their Magic Power, beyond enraged at this monster’s outrageous actions, and has to bite back a laugh at how damn good the other Slayer is at being a pretend bad guy for the sake of his Guild Mate. A bright flare of light tells Jaelyn that Natsu has stepped up his charade and started to destroy the City through means of using his Magic.

That’s the final straw for Mystogan. “Stop this, Natsu!”

“I am the Great Demon King Dragneel,” the Fire Dragon Slayer retorts with a malicious grin.

“Stop this foolishness! The King has fallen! There is no need to attack the Royal City.”

The salmon-haired male simply grins, burning and destroying more of the city. “Can you stop me, Prince of Edolas?”

Panther Lily is quick to demand answers as to why the Dragon Slayers are pretending to be evil Demons from another world, and Nadi is the one to stutter out that he’s at fault for their current predicament. However, Jaelyn doesn’t allow for the shaking Exceed to take the entirety of the blame for their circumstances, explaining to both Panther Lily and Mystogan that is was her idea for the smaller creature to go inform the members of Fairy Tail; that she knew they’d refuse to allow for one of their own to be killed for something he’s only done to save everyone, and that, if it had not gone according to plan, she would have been the one to take Mystogan’s place and become the “villain” within the confines of this story.

“Come here,” Natsu calls, a malicious grin on his youthful face. “If you don't, there won't be a trace left of this city.”

“Natsu, don't move from there!” Mystogan vaults over the wall, Jaelyn landing behind him barely a second later, refusing to let them be torn away from each other without even getting the chance to say their goodbyes.


	38. 35 • Goodbye, Edolas and Mystogan

Mystogan and Jaelyn run out into the city to stop Natsu, the former thinking the pinkette’s act won't fool the public, which she can’t exactly blame the Prince for believing. After all, he knows not of how the minds of these people work, and he knows the difficulties of having to manipulate and convince certain individuals. Even though she has a feeling that this plan is going to work, Jaelyn has to admit that, at first, such thoughts had plagued her for a few moments, unsure as to whether the Fire Dragon Slayer could pull off such a difficult and malicious charade - well, difficult for him considering he tends to have a heart of gold.

“Fool! I know what you're trying to do, but there's no way to bring things under control! Sleep!” Mystogan holds his Stave out in front of him, but, as Jaelyn expected, the Magic simply becomes sucked up into the sky, through the Anima, and into Earth Land. “The Magic Power is being sucked into the Anima!”

“What's wrong? Scared without any Magic Power?” Natsu says with a tormenting smile that makes the hair on the back of her neck rise, her mind flashing with memories of years past that she’d much rather forget. “Yeah, that's right Magic is Power! What incredible destructive Power!”

The child of Igneel continues to destroy the City, causing Wendy to yell for the older Slayer to stop; that he’s going too far, but Gajeel is quick to soothe the bluenette’s worries, telling her that it’s necessary for Natsu to show his strength in order for Mystogan to seem stronger when he defeats the younger male. Jaelyn smiles at their sibling-like relationship despite how little they’ve had to do with each other before today, but it soon turns sad as she is forced to think about the relationship she is about to lose this very day.

“Enough of this, Natsu. I cannot become a hero,” Mystogan tells the Slayer. “And you aren't going to get away with just pretending to be beaten.”

Natsu grins widely. “You're on!”

“This is a farce! The people won't come together from this No way!”

“Don't hold back. Looks like we've got a gallery!”

Throughout their conversation, the Guild Mates trade blows, Mystogan holding back, not wanting to hurt someone he’s trying so desperately to protect. Jaelyn’s stomach twists uncomfortably as she bounces on the balls of her feet, itching to get involved in the fight; to end it before either of the idiots get seriously hurt. Still, without using Magic, they’re evenly matched with their abilities in hand-to-hand combat, which means this is a more than fair fight that Natsu is prepared to throw if and when necessary.

Caught in her thoughts, she almost misses Mystogan sending Natsu to the ground.

“You idiot!” Mystogan’s eyes narrow as he watches Natsu climb back onto his feet. “If you insist on doing this, then stay down!”

“Hell, no! This is a Fairy Tail goodbye,” Natsu retorts, flinging himself back into the fight. “There are three rules anyone leaving Fairy Tail must follow.” He gains the upper hand for a brief moment. “One! You must never reveal sensitive information about Fairy Tail to others for as long as you live! Two!” He loses the upper hand when his nose begins to bleed after Mystogan’s fist collides with his face, which further makes Natsu lose track of what he was saying. “What was it, again?”

Mystogan gains the upper hand and forces Natsu backwards. “Two! You must not have unauthorized contact with past clients or profit personally from them!”

“That's right! Three! Even if we walk different paths, one must always live on as strong as you are able! You must never treat your own life as something insignificant! You must never forget the friends you love for as long as you live!” Natsu falls to the ground from the final blow as Mystogan simply slides his foot back to retain his balance. “Did you get all that? As long as you keep the guild mindset, there's nothing you can't do. I hope we meet again, Mystogan.”

“Natsu…” His voice is disbelieving and caring, but his eyes widen in horror a few moments later as Natsu’s body begins to glow the same yellow as the Magic being sucked from Edolas’ very core. “Natsu. Your… Your body…”

“It's started,” Natsu says with a smile.

Jaelyn’s stomach drops and she forces her way through the crowd that’s grown in front of her as they continue to cheer at their Prince’s victory, running towards Mystogan. She throws her arms around the one she’s come to see as her older brother and begins to cry without restraint, not wanting to leave behind this man. Mystogan’s arms wrap around her and reciprocate the hug, his own emotions beginning to get the better of him and his body not wanting to release the younger girl as she begins to rise off the ground.

Despite the Anima pulling her from Edolas, she refuses to let go, instead tightening her hold and fighting against it. “Don’t let me go, Jel. Don’t you dare let me go.”

Mystogan shakes his head and forces himself to slowly release her. “I don’t have a choice, Jae. As much as I want you to stay here with me, you have to go back home to those who love you.”

“I don’t care! Don’t let me go, you bastard!”

“Live your life, little sister.”

With only their joined hands keeping Jaelyn from being sucked into the Anima, Mystogan finally sees the utterly heartbroken look covering her face. He refuses to close his eyes as he slowly loosens his hold on her patchy, scaled hands, and that means he doesn’t miss the growing horror on her face as she feels their fingers slipping apart, or the desperation that follows as she tries to regain her hold on his hands. Without meaning too, her nails transform at the strong emotions pulsing through her blood and she leaves deep gashes on his palms, but he simply smiles as the blood from such wounds only makes it harder for her to hold on to the one she hates having to abandon.

The moment their hands part, Jaelyn cries out and stretches her arms out as far as she possibly can, tears obscuring her vision, but not enough for her to miss the agony on Mystogan’s face, or the fact that his hands are still reaching for her despite the growing distance between them. He grows smaller the higher she rises into the sky, but she clearly sees how his face crumples when he doesn’t think she can see his expressions any longer, and that’s quickly followed by a glimmering sheen covering his eyes and then burning, salty tears as he gives in to the agony and heartbreak he’s unable to suppress in this moment, and it relieves her to know that he’s struggling with having to let her go after everything they’ve shared and how close they’ve grown over the past few years.

“Jellal!”

She swears that she hears him yell out her name in response, but she can’t be sure, because, hardly a second after she called for him, she’s sucked through the Anima and expelled back into Earth Land. Colliding with the hard ground, far away from everyone else who was sent through the portal, she doesn’t move except to roll slightly to the side and continue to cry, having given up on being strong whilst she’s alone and out of hearing from the other Slayers. Agony pulses through her being, but she can’t be sure if it’s from breaking her leg when she landed, or from having her heart shattered into a million tiny shards that have deemed it necessary to bury themselves into the very fibre of her being.

The day continues on as if nothing happened and it’s soon nightfall, dark enough for her to meld with the darkness in the confines of the forest. However, she doesn’t get her wish. A familiar scent welcomes her next breath and she sobs, remembering only two days ago when she was having the time of her life with them and the one she was forced to abandon only hours ago. The babbling of the souls that accompany him don’t grow much closer than a few metres, but their companion continues forward, dropping his visor to the ground beside her before his body follows, sitting with his long legs crossed.

“Gray told me what happened, so you don’t have to tell me if you don’t want to, little dragon,” Bickslow tells her, his hand hesitating before resting on her upper back, rubbing soothing circles over the braille like scars decorating her skin. “I’m not going anywhere until I know you’re going to be alright - even if that means having you stay at mine, or me staying at yours, until the damn S-Class Trials.”

“Thank you, Bix,” Jaelyn murmurs, peering up at him with bloodshot eyes and a weak smile, watching as those red eyes lighten slightly at her openness with him. “What would I do without you?”

“Crash and burn. Now, come on. Let’s get you inside before I freeze to death waiting for you to get your shit together enough that you don’t fall over making your way through this damn forest.” He stands and pulls her up from the ground, barely waiting a second before completely picking her up, one arm hooked under her knees and the other around her lower back, holding her close to his chest. “I’m no Laxus, but I can carry you, little dragon. So, where are we going? My place or yours?”

She picks his visor up off the ground using her _Telekinesis_ and holds it to her chest, smiling softly as his babies fly over to her, the smallest nuzzling against her cheek. “I don’t care. Just stay with me, and don’t you dare let me go either…”

“Of course, little dragon. No chance in that any time soon.”

**• • • • • •**

**I fucking cried just writing this goddamn arc - this chapter especially! I hope you’re all happy about my damned suffering… because I’m gonna make you hate me next. *evil grin***


	39. 36 • Breaking and Coping

She wakes to the smell of cooking and the comforting smell of freshly made coffee, cocooned in a warmth she hasn’t felt in what seems like weeks. Opening her eyes, she finds herself staring out her bedroom window over the restored city of Magnolia bathed in the early morning sun, and a soft smile stretches her dry lips upwards when she notices the multi-coloured bundle of fur curled up on the bed beside her. The Exceed hasn’t left her side since she found the small thing abandoned by the others in the forest a few days ago, and she cannot say that she’s overly upset about it - Bickslow and his babies have even grown to love the small bundle of joy despite its inability to speak.

Sitting up, Jaelyn slips from her bed and pads out to her open-plan area, the large shirt left behind by Mystogan falling down from where it was bunched up at her hips, the end now reaching mid-thigh. Leaning against the wall, she watches as Bickslow moves around her kitchen, making sure that he’s not burning anything as he continues to sip at his hot coffee. He’s currently shirtless, a sight she’s gotten used to in the mornings and at night considering he doesn’t sleep in a shirt, and she can’t say that it’s something she hates. Even if they’re not together or in any way involved other than as friends, there’s nothing to say that she can’t appreciate him and his body.

“I could get used to waking up to this, Bix,” Jaelyn teases, Bickslow turning to grin at her over his shoulder, red eyes glimmering with amusement. “Maybe we should just get married and say “fuck it” because you’re probably the best man in my life right now. How’s that for a plan?”

Bickslow laughs slightly and flips the pancakes. “ Sounds like a good plan, except we both know that Laxus would kill me for taking you from him. You know how damn territorial that bugger is. What’s brought this up, little dragon?”

“As I said, you’re the best I’ve got in my life, and you’re not that bad to be around. Yeah, you’re still only in the friend book, but, fuck it, I wouldn’t have anyone else - except maybe Erik, if he wasn’t more a pest than you, soul boy.”

“I admit, that’s pretty damn thoughtful, but…”

“Laxus. Yeah, I know, but he fucking left without giving me any way of contacting him, and he’s more of a fucking handful than you are on your worst days. Not to mention, Lavinia has already chosen you for her Mate, so that puts a bit more of a damper on things.” She sits on her couch and watches as he plates up their food, followed by making her coffee. It’s been like this for a few days now, and it’s greatly comforting knowing that someone is willing to care for someone so utterly broken and disfigured. “Bix, there’s something I need to tell you, and I need you to not freak out.”

“Let me sit down so I don’t drop the breakfast I lovingly made for you, little dragon.” He walks over to her and places the plates and coffee-filled mugs on the coffee table, one of his babies flying over with maple syrup sitting atop them. Smiling, he takes it from the little thing and puts it on the table before turning to her, red eyes curious at what she has to say. “You were saying?”

“Well, to be honest, this is probably the one thing that’s never happened to me before - except from being married - and it came as a surprise to me too.”

“Don’t dance around the issue, Jaelyn. Tell it as it is.”

“Uncharacteristically serious… No pressure there.”

“Mavis, Jaelyn!”

Instead of saying anything, she glares at the Seith Mage and takes hold of his wrist, dragging his hand towards her until it’s resting atop her abdomen. The Dragon Slayer watches his expression intently as his eyebrows shoot up into his hairline, and she feels his hand quiver against her body, her stomach churning as his face turns blank before the unexpected happens. His red eyes turn a vibrant green, followed by a flash of the same coloured light, and then they’re trained on where their hands are resting, brow furrowed and mouth in a thin line. Growling, she shoves him away and turns her body away from him, disgusted that he’d think she’d lie about such things.

“I can’t believe you thought I’d lie about this, Bickslow.”

“Hey, it’s not that it at all!” the Seith Mage defends. “You don’t think I knew something was up with the amount of vomiting you’ve been doing since you got back from Edolas? At first, I thought it was just being back in a Magic-filled environment, but then it went on too long for that to be the damned case, and I began to suspect something else was up.”

The Slayer turns back to face him, eyes blazing. “Then what the hell were you doing?!”

“I was seeing how far along you are. For all we know, it could have been Laxus’ from your last night together before he left to go Mavis knows where! It isn't that old, just so you know. Next time, don’t jump to damn conclusions, Jaelyn. You make us both feel like fucking assholes by doing stupid shit like that! I get you’ve got trust issues, but it’s me, and you know you can trust me, little dragon.”

“So, you don’t want to leave and never come back if I don’t get rid of it?”

“Mavis, Jaelyn… I wouldn’t ask you to kill an innocent child - much less ours - for something so completely idiotic. There’s no way I’m leaving. I promised, remember?”

“Yeah, I remember. Sorry. I’m just freaking out about this. Fucking hell, I’m nineteen and I’m pregnant with a twenty-two year old’s child. That’s nothing to freak out about, right?”

Bickslow sighs and shakes his head. “Breathe, little dragon. We’ll deal with this however we need to. Just… I’m going to regret saying this, but, be glad this hasn’t happened before, when you were younger. Who knows how you and your child would have been treated back then… I makes my skin crawl.”

Jaelyn shudders and rubs her upper arms, trying to force the chills away. “That’s a fair enough point… I hate to think of what could have happened if this had come to pass back then… Anyway, now that’s out of the way, I’m starving, so let’s eat.” Before she starts eating another thought hits her. “Oh, also, we’d better tell Lavinia about this when she comes back for the S-Class Trials in a few weeks.”

A laugh leaves the Seith Mage as he watches the Dragon Slayer practically inhale her pancakes after drowning them in syrup, his eyes moving down to her abdomen for a moment as thoughts fly through his mind. One of his best friends is carrying his child after a drunken one-night stand, and she’s not repulsed by the chance they may be born bearing the same Magic as himself, or the fact that he himself - one who uses Black Caster Magic - is the father. Then again, she’s undeniably seen much more dangerous and malicious users of Dark Magic throughout her short life, and she’s decided that he can be trusted despite all the hell they’ve put her through.

Jaelyn watches Bickslow out of the corner of her eye, dark eyes softening as a smile crosses over the male’s features, softening the harsh edges of his face and making those dark red eyes shine. As he begins to eat his pancakes, no longer focused on her, she allows herself to consider whether or not keeping this child will be the best for both herself and Bickslow. After all, he wasn’t kidding when he said that Laxus would hurt him for laying a finger on her, but the Lightning Dragon Slayer wouldn’t go as far as to kill the Seith Mage lest he face the endless wrath of Jaelyn herself - which he’s already going to face whenever she sees him next, whether he cares to do so or not.

With the S-Class Trials being less than a month away now, she can’t help but worry whether or not she’ll be in the best state to do such a thing, but, of course, she really has no option, lest she draw attention to herself and her situation - both from the Guild and from those she’d rather stay far away from. Also, with her luck in the past, her numerous issues, and the possibly horrific state of all her organs, the child may well develop slower than it’s meant to and allow for her to keep it hidden for a longer time. Furthermore, raising the child will definitely draw unwanted attention because she won’t be able to go on missions, or even be seen in the Guild Hall without Natsu, Wendy or Gajeel smelling them child on her.

Shaking her head, she forces such thoughts from her mind and focuses on mentally preparing herself for the upcoming S-Class Trials. She’s curious to know who Makarov has decided to be up to the task of competing in the Trials, and she has her own idea as to who the old man is going to choose. One definite choice is Cana, who has been ready for years, but has consistently failed in making it, and another would be Gray, as well as Natsu. She wouldn’t put it past Makarov to put either Juvia or Gajeel down for the Trials considering they were both S-Class Mages before Phantom Lord fell, but she has a feeling that it won’t be either of them. Levy and Lucy may also be other candidates, and there’s always the chance of one, if not all, members of the Thunder Legion being thrown into the mess as well.

Any of those would be some of the best choices Makarov could make, and Jaelyn can’t wait to see whether or not anyone she thinks is ready will be facing the same Trials she did seven years ago.

** • • • • • •**

**Hey, superwolves!**

**So, this one is a short chapter, but we’re going to be straight into the Tenrou Arc next chapter despite how much I want to have more of Bickslow and Jaelyn’s friendship, and all the shit they go through with her being pregnant with his child.**

**Don’t forget that it’s not going to go like you think, and that I’ve already made it so something happens when they’re on Tenrou Island. Suck it up, if you’re complaining. Sorry, but there’s just some things in life that cannot be helped.**

**\- Chey xo -**


	40. 37 • S-Class Trials and Old Friends

Humming under her breath, she smiles as she listens to Makarov call out the names of those who will be participating in this years’ S-Class Trials. Bickslow cackles with delight and punches Freed in the shoulder, delighted with the Rune Mage, and she knows that they’re going to be a formidable team to go up against. Then again, Levy and Gajeel may also be difficult, not to mention Evergreen and Elfman, but Cana and Lucy, and Juvia and Lisanna may also be challenges - not to mention, Gray and Loke are quite the pair when it comes to fighting. Something seems off about Mest and Wendy, but Jaelyn can’t quite put her finger on it - which may have something to do with the fact that she still does not have all her memories back.

They’re all about to board the boat to bring them to Tenrou Island, where the existing S-Class Wizards are already waiting for those who are going to be fighting them. Thinking back, Jaelyn remembers her S-Class Trial when she was thirteen, not long after she joined the Guild and not long before she turned fourteen, and how she refused to pair up with anyone and still managed to make it out on top and become a S-Class Wizard. It was one hell of a tough Trial, wrought with close calls in the duel she was caught in with Laxus and his partner back then, and finding the First Master’s grave was also quite a bit more difficult than she originally thought it would have been.

Jaelyn grins and runs over to Lavinia and throws her arms around the older girl, laughing in delight as her found Exceed, Marlie, scurries over to her, climbing up her leg and coming to rest on her shoulder. “Mavis, it feels like years since I’ve seen you, Lav. How have you been?”

Lavinia smiles and returns the hug, inhaling her best friends scent mixed with that of Bickslow’s. “I know the feeling, little blue. So, do you want to tell me why you smell so much like Bix?”

“Well, ever since I lost Mystogan when we were all sent to Edolas, Bix has been staying with me. I can’t handle being on my own after that hellish experience, so he offered.”

“There’s something else. What happened while I was in Bosco?”

“Jel, Bix and I got drunk, and Bix and I ended up sleeping together. Somehow, despite all the shit I’ve been through in the past and the countless times it’s never managed to stick before, I’m carrying his child.” Jaelyn swallows harshly and clenches her jaw. “I don’t expect you or your Dragon to forgive me -  _ forgive us _ \- for what we did, but I hope you do, one day.”

“Of course I forgive you, you silly girl.” Lavinia pulls the First Generation Slayer into a hug. “I know that neither of you have feelings for the other, and that nothing remotely Mate-like or romantic could come of it; that you’ll always be just friends. Nothing more, nothing less. That said, even though I do forgive you, I’m not exactly happy about you getting drunk with  _ Bickslow _ and  _ Mystogan _ of all people and ending up sleeping with the one I love. Although, after everything you’ve been through, I do hope you had fun that night and lived like you’ve never lived before. Mavis knows that you deserve that and more.”

With a final smile at the one she’s brave enough to call her sister after everything they’ve been through together over the years, Jaelyn looks over at Mirajane and Erza, smiling slightly at how different the pair are these days compared to the constant fighting that would, and could, rival that of Gray and Natsu. She climbs to her feet and dusts her jeans off before walking over to Gildarts, leaning on his shoulder and staring out into the open sea. It makes her sick just thinking about being submerged in such a large body of water, a bath being a struggle on its own, and she makes a strange sound as she closes her eyes, fighting back the memories. Marlie makes a strange noise, breaking Jaelyn from those tumultuous thoughts, and the Dragon Slayer smiles, scratching the flying cat between the ears.

“Don’t go bailing on me, Jaelyn,” Gildarts teases the Slayer. “We need you for this Trial now that Mystogan has disappeared and Laxus got kicked out.”

Jaelyn peers down at the older man. “You know Mystogan didn’t disappear, so don’t say that. He went back to Edolas, where none of us can ever see him again.”

“Yeah, yeah. I know. You gonna be alright doing this though? I mean, after Laxus’ and Lavinia’s S-Class Trial, you didn’t come anywhere near this island until today.”

“That was six years ago. Just because I almost ended up dead, doesn’t mean anything. I antagonised a damn  _ hormonal Dragon Slayer _ , Gil. What else did you expect to happen?”

In response, she gets a shrug, and she’s not sure whether it’s non-committal or not, but she’s quickly looking back out over the ocean, staring at the oncoming ship filled with this years’ contestants. Honestly, she’s not sure what to call anyone who is about to face the S-Class Trials, but “contestant” sounds to be one of the better options - or maybe “challenger” would work too. Shaking her head and smiling at her own random thoughts, she turns and makes her way through the middle entrance, a nostalgic feeling washing over her as she traverses the same cave she chose all those years ago, Marlie tightening her hold on Jaelyn as the path darkens. Erza follows behind her while Gildarts heads to a different cave and Mirajane to another, getting in their designated places for the Trials as Lavinia remains outside the system, ready to welcome the arriving Mages when they reach the shore of Tenrou Island.

Jaelyn exits the system and stares out over the magical forest she hasn’t seen since Laxus’ and Lavinia’s S-Class Trial six years ago; since he left her bleeding badly on the ground, Mystogan, Lavinia, Gildarts and Gray crowding around her in an attempt to stop her from completely bleeding out. Her fingers massage the jagged scar on the right side of her abdomen, a pained smile gracing her face as she remembers the one time it seemed as though Laxus cared about her - the petrified expression in his eyes and the way all blood seemed to drain from his face when he finally realised that she wasn’t getting up after his last attack.

Somehow after that stressful ordeal, both he and Lavinia managed to complete the S-Class Wizard Promotion Trial and become S-Class Wizards. They were the first and only pair of twins to do such a thing; pairing up together when they were both in the running for the prize at the end. It’s strange how it was allowed considering there’s only meant to be one Wizard left standing at the end of it all - well, one Wizard and whoever they asked to partner up with them for the Trials. The only reason she can see why Makarov would have allowed it would have been because they were his grandchildren, and because they were both as equally as deserving of the title as the other.

Pulling the Camera Lacrima from her bag, she sets it up and finds herself a seat, Marlie moving around to sit on the Slayer’s lap. She watches as Bickslow and Freed are the first to leave the ship, a barrier erected to prevent the others from following until it times out. Wendy and Mest are next to leave, the latter being able to use  _ Teleportation _ and the former having Carla, and they’re followed by Levy and Gajeel when the Script Mage deactivates a small section of the  _ Rune Magic _ to allow herself and her partner through, Panther Lily following behind the pair. Natsu is quick to follow after the others with Happy, leaving behind everyone else to suffer through the timed barrier around the ship, and Jaelyn can’t help but laugh at how strangely this Trial has started off compared to the past ones she’s seen in the years gone by.

It’s not long before everyone is on Tenrou Island, and everyone has eventually entered a cave, Lucy and Cana being the final pair to do so, and Jaelyn hums in delight, watching as everyone comes face-to-face with their challenges for the first Trial. 

On Route A, Elfman and Evergreen end up facing off against Mirajane, and, while they do fight for a period of time, they ultimately win by Evergreen telling the S-Class Wizard that she and her brother are getting married. That little stunt completely stuns the Demoness enough that she turns into a fangirl, and Jaelyn finds herself cackling at the thought of the pair getting married.

On Route B and Route C, Freed and Bickslow choose the former, and Cana and Lucy choose the latter, piquing Jaelyn’s interest as she watches the interactions and battle between the two teams. Cana’s quick to use her Card Magic to call out many bikini-clad girls to distract Freed, and Lucy calls out Aries to cushion Bickslow, rendering both useless. Although, when the girls are gone, Jaelyn smiles as the males somewhat congratulate each other on throwing the fight, successfully making them fail.

On Route D, Juvia and Lisanna end up facing off against Erza, and Jaelyn finds herself drawn to watching the Take-Over Mage and Water Mage work together in an attempt to beat the Requip Mage. However, as both S-Class Wizards expect, the pair aren’t coordinated enough, and Juvia clearly isn’t using the true extent of her abilities, which leads to the pair losing; cut from the competition and automatically failed.

On Route E, Natsu and Happy face off against Gildarts of all people, and Jaelyn leans forward in her seat as she watches the teenage Fire Dragon Slayer attack his Crash Mage father figure. It’s an interesting fight, to say the least - especially watching hundreds of tiny Natsu’s charge at Gildarts, fire streaming from their mouths as Happy hovers overhead. In the end, when Gildarts releases his Magic, Natsu is left trembling as he falls to his knees and submits, the older Mage gives him some advice before allowing him to pass; keeping the younger Mage in the running.

On Route F, Gajeel is complaining about how there’s no one to fight, prompting Levy to laugh at the Iron Dragon Slayer’s pugnacious tendencies. Jaelyn watches with a soft smile as they interact, and she knows that, one day, they may well make one of the best couples - and have some of the most beautiful children.

On Route G and Route H, Gray and Loke having chosen the first, and Mest and Wendy having chosen the second, they’re caught in a duel. It’s not as interesting as she thought it would be, but it does have its highlights all the same. In the end, Gray and Loke are the ones victorious, causing Mest and Wendy to fail the Trial.

Before long, all the winners are standing before Jaelyn and Marlie at exit of the tunnels, some worse for wear and others without a scratch on them. Lavinia soon joins them, along with those who failed the Trial, and she reunites with Bickslow, who’s quick to pull the older, and shorter, blonde-haired girl into a hug. Erza, Gildarts and Mirajane soon arrive as well, followed by Makarov, and he explains the next step in the Trial, much to the dismay of those still standing, making Jaelyn laugh and shake her head, grinning widely as she picks Marlie up and holds her to her chest. As the contestants run off into the forest that is Tenrou Island, those who failed are taken to a camp set up not too far away, the S-Class Mages leading the way.

A breeze picks up and Jaelyn goes still, her hold tightening on the Exceed in her grasp as her lower back starts burning slightly and the hair on the back of her neck rises as she catches a dark scent. Lavinia is quick to follow suit, a growl rumbling in her chest, but none of the other Mages, aside from Bickslow, who’s standing beside both Dragon Slayers, realise that something is wrong. Looking over her shoulder, Jaelyn feels something akin to anxiety and unease, as well as some twisted kind of excitement, pool in her stomach, her hand coming up to scratch lightly at the Guild Mark on her left shoulder.

** • • • • • •**

**Hey, superwolves!** **   
** **So, as you can see, I’ve added another OC in for the sake of giving Bickslow someone, and for giving Laxus a little sister. With that being said, I’ve gone back and edited some of the chapters in order to somewhat incorporate Lavinia into the story, so feel free to go back and reread the earlier chapters to get a feel of her character outside this chapter.**

**Introducing Lavinia was really a spur of the moment thing, and I like that I’ve done it, because, honestly, I feel like I need to have a bit more femininity to this story considering I’m having Jaelyn not particularly like other girls (like myself) and only really like the Slayers (which is because I’m somewhat obsessed with the idea of Dragons and Dragon Slayers).**

**Speaking of which, Lavinia is a Moon Dragon Slayer - not to be confused with a Lunar Dragon Slayer - and will be getting her own book when I get around to it. It will detail the months she spent in Bosco with Bickslow’s family, the Pradesh’s - which I am extremely excited to write about after reading the different interpretations people have taken from the characters created by Desna over on FanFiction.net and Desna1 on Archive of Our Own.**

**Also! I’ve given Jaelyn an Exceed, if you haven’t been able to tell since the previous chapter, and I kind of want to give Laxus and Lavinia one too, but I’m not sure whether I should or not. Let me know!**

**\- Chey xo -**


	41. 38 • Search for the Truth

Jaelyn can’t fight the feeling that something completely dreadful and life-extinguishing is coming, and it’s making her unable to remain still. Currently pacing back and forth in front of Marlie, Bickslow and Lavinia, she’s wearing a path into the grass, and it appears to be shriveling up and dying to more she starts to panic and worry. None are quite sure what to make of it, but it may have something to do with her Magic beginning to go haywire. Growling, the Dark Dragon Slayer turns and slams her fist against a tree, darkness encompassing it and several trees surrounding it, turning them all to charcoal before everyone’s eyes.

Bickslow gets up and pulls her away from the damage. “Look at me, little dragon. You need to have some kind of control, or  _ someone _ is going to think something they shouldn’t.”

“Someone like who?” Jaelyn spits, pulling herself free of his hold. “Anyone who gives a damn about me is either dead, locked up or so far away that they wouldn’t hear me scream if Kyôka started to torture me right here and now! And I really doubt that anyone that could hear me, well, they wouldn’t be inclined to help someone who could betray them with a handful of words!” She shoves Bickslow away, snarling like a wounded beast. “I am a  _ Demon  _ and a  _ heartless monster  _ through and through! I have murdered  _ countless people _ , and I’ve tortured even more than that to death -  _ just for the hell of it! _ I’ve heard the wretched, heart-wrenching, animalistic sounds that Humans can make when they’re pushed past their breaking points; the way they give up on begging and pleading like little children to be set free, left only to scream until their vocal cords are torn and all they can do is writhe until they’re too fatigued to do much more  _ than just hang there! _

“I’ve been in their fucking places more times than I care to fucking count! I’ve been broken down and built back up into some heartless fucking  _ weapon _ that’s been given free range over the entire fucking world! And you fucking know what?! I’d go through all the fucking  _ torture  _ and  _ violation _ , every  _ manipulation  _ and every  _ degradation _ countless fucking times if it meant getting Powerful enough to continuously save the sorry asses of those who were unbelievably  _ insensible _ and ridiculously  _ lamentable  _ enough to get close to me! They gave me a reason to live, and all I can do is disappoint them…”

Bickslow and Lavinia are staring at their friend in horror, eyes blown wide, mouths parted, and their faces paler than Jaelyn’s ever seen before. True, the Seith Mage has the ability to read the souls of those around him, but only to the extent that those who the soul belongs to allows. While he could force his way into those barricaded souls, he tries his damndest to respect the boundaries they’ve set. Even he, with the extent of his abilities and his knowledge about his friend, couldn’t have predicted the extent of the scarring left behind by the unimaginable horrors she’s been forced to live through; that she is constantly faced with.

On the other hand, Lavinia, with her Moon Dragon Slayer Magic, her own personal, former, relationship with the other Slayer, and Laxus as her twin brother, before this outburst and major truth bomb, to an extent, knew how badly Jaelyn has been scarred by the hell's of past. Even knowing such things, seeing her friend’s complete vulnerability right before her eyes, scars and festering wounds, that had been previously hidden, now bared for all to see, it shakes the Moon Dragon Slayer to her very core.

Around the seething and ranting Mage, an aura of pure darkness has begun to grow, no light to be seen with its depths. The living organisms around her have begun to die, withering up and curling in on themselves, deteriorating and decomposing in a matter of seconds. It’s not only the area around her, but also her body that begins to change: her dark green eyes completely eclipsed in black, a beyond terrifying malicious and deadly look in them; nails lengthening and sharpening until they’re several inch long claws, fading from pitch black at the tips to pure white at their bases; onyx scales blossoming to life on her pale skin, covering all available areas and hardening to the point where nothing could dream of penetrating them; lips curling back in a sneer to reveal overly sharpened and lengthened canines in place of her usually short ones.

Yet, that’s not the end to her transformation. While this may be the current extent of her Draconic transformation, it’s yet to pass into Demonic territory. As her friends watch on, twisted horns force their way out of her skull; her face becomes less full, sinking in on itself, and elongates, turning into something more animalistic; the bones in her body crack and break before reforming, her spine now having several inch high spikes down its length, forcing her to become hunched at the way they force her spine to bend; between her shoulder blades, on either side of the row of spines, two buds burst from her skin before growing at an alarming rate, a pair of large, magnificent, onyx leathery wings soon heavy on her back; her ears lengthen and narrow, turning into something which resembles that of an Elf-Dragon hybrid. 

Bickslow’s Magic flares to life, forcing him to realise that, where her somehow untainted soul once hummed, is now something akin to that of a black hole; sucking in the life of its owner and everything else that strays into its path, leaving them empty shells devoid of anything that which makes them even remotely Human to those around them. Lavinia shudders as chills sweep along her spine, her own body reacting to the sudden change of the other Slayer’s right before her: eyes becoming eclipsed in pure white as shimmering white scales flecked with silver cover her arms and frame her face, nails matching a similar length and colour to that of the Dark Dragon Slayer. On the other side of the island, Gray stops short and grips the section of his shirt above his heart in an unforgiving hold, his dark blue gaze focusing on the direction in which he knows Jaelyn to be, a feeling like wildfire followed by an ice colder than he’s ever felt before flying through his veins, leaving behind a bone-chilling sensation that words cannot describe; his skin crawling uncomfortably and his fingers tingling as if he’s only just regained blow flow in the area.

In the blink of an eye, Marlie has thrown herself at Jaelyn, hugging the Slayer to the best of her ability. “No… more…”

Those two words stun Jaelyn so much that everything she’s inadvertently released is too quickly forced back into their confines, sending pain rocketing through her body. “Marlie…”

“No… more…”

“Hey, it’s alright. No more, okay?”

“No… more…”

Lavinia cocks her head to the side and looks at the Exceed. “Why’s that the only think she’s saying? Doesn’t she know more of our language than that?”

Jaelyn hugs the small bundle of fur. “Sshh, little one. I know I scared you. No more.”

Bickslow pulls his visor off just as his vibrant green eyes train on Marlie. “She’s saying the words she’s heard the most. ‘No more’ seems to be the little cat’s extent right now, and I hate to think why they’re the words she’s heard the most.”

“My nightmares are the reason, and we all know that.”

Before anything else can be said, there’s multiple large explosions of Magical Power, and they’re not just from those within Fairy Tail. Jaelyn’s breath catches in her throat, a bone-chilling sensation sweeping throughout her body and making the Guild Mark on her left shoulder burn, warning her that this is no ordinary Guild, but the one which she had been ripped to shreds and built into a monster by: Grimoire Heart. A guttural snarl works its way free from her body and she holds her Exceed closer in an attempt to hide the innocent soul away from the hell that’s about to rain down on them.

One look from Jaelyn to Bickslow tells him all he needs to know: that they need to either run and hide and pray that they’re spared, or be prepared to fight tooth and nail to the death, whether it be that of Fairy Tail or that of Grimoire Heart. 


	42. 39 • The Black Wizard, Zeref

With nearly everyone clashing with a member of Grimoire Heart, the Dark Dragon, a member of the Dark Guild herself, is left alone on the island sacred to the Light Guild Fairy Tail. She’s honestly conflicted, wanting to fight by the sides of those who she cares for, but also on the side of the ones that have proven, time and time again, that they can easily destroy and replace her, or make her regret not fighting alongside them. Despite that knowledge, she can’t help but choose the side she know, with absolute certainty, will win: that of Fairy Tail.

Jaelyn’s head snaps to the side as an unimaginable amount of Power seems to radiate from one spot on Tenrou Island, and a tingling sensation spreads along her skin, making a twisted smile work its way onto her face. He’s on the island. Turning, she sprints through the trees in the direction of the familiarly dark Magical Power, having a feeling that she knows exactly who it is. Her Exceed, Marlie, quickly hurries after Jaelyn, wings sprouting from her back and flying after the Dark Dragon Slayer.

She reaches a clearing and finds Evergreen and Elfman there, as well as a dark-haired man who has a tormented expression on his face. Jaelyn moves to stand in front of the two Fairy Tail Wizards, meeting the onyx eyes of the man she’s waited for ever since her brother told her of the most powerful Dark Wizard in all of creation. The man stares at the cobalt haired girl with something reminiscent of surprise before warning her to back away like he did with Evergreen and Elfman. 

“Zeref,” Jaelyn greets the man, taking a handful of steps back at his request.

“You need to stay away,” the Dark Wizard pleads, hands coming up to grip his hair. “Oh no. It’s happening again.”

Jaelyn’s dark green eyes narrow with apprehension as a swirling sphere of pure darkness surrounds Zeref, shifting her feet so she is braced for the hit. She hears a cry of “get down” from Natsu, and catches sight of him tackling his Guild mates to the ground just as the darkness flies towards them. The Dark Dragon Slayer covers her eyes, forcing them to stay open and watch the Dark Wizard in front of her. Pain floods his face once the darkness subsides and Jaelyn watches with shock as everything begins to die around them, the life sucked from them by Zeref losing control of his Magic. 

She hears Natsu and the others talking, but she’s too focused on the look of utter shock on Zeref’s face as he breathes out “Natsu.” Jaelyn hears the sharp intake of breath from the Slayer behind her at the name leaving the Dark Wizard’s lips, and she can only imagine the shocked look on the pink-haired man’s face. She makes a sound in her throat at the tears that begin to run down Zeref’s face, drawing the attention of her Guild mate. 

Natsu leaps up from the ground and grips Jaelyn’s upper arm, forcing her to look into his furious onyx eyes. “What the hell were you thinking, Jae?! You took the full force of that hit!”

She squirms in his grip, the heat radiating off him making her grit her teeth. “I’m fine, you pyromaniac. It didn’t hurt me or do anything to me.”

“How the hell not?!”

“Haven’t you been paying attention? I’m not a normal Wizard, you bozo! Now get off me!”

She tears her arm from Natsu’s grasp and shoves him away, turning her focus back to Zeref. Natsu does the same as the Dark Wizard speaks to him, but he quickly snaps and punches the man in the face, making Jaelyn squawk in horror, afraid for the Fire Dragon Slayer. However, she’s surprised when Zeref merely regains his composure and tears continue to roll down his cheeks, barely even scratched by the attack. Jaelyn hesitantly steps towards the man, dodging Natsu’s attempts to stop her, and then meets the dark eyes of Zeref, imploring him to do something. 

As if her wish is granted, another sphere of darkness erupts from Zeref, surrounding both of them as Natsu yells for Jaelyn to get out of there. However, she remains calm inside the darkness, standing tall as the Dark Wizard loses control, sapping what remains of the environments life. Natsu shields Evergreen and Elfman from the Magic once again, glaring at Jaelyn as she simply stands in the epicentre of the blast, barely even flinching at the enormous amount of Magic blasting into her. Zeref vanishes right in front of the Dark Dragon Slayer and she grins, following his scent like a bloodhound, leaving the Fairy Tail Wizards in the dust. 

“Zeref,” Jaelyn calls, walking over to where the ancient man is sitting against a tree, crying once more. She falls to her knees in front of him, making the Wizard look at her. “Is it truly you?”

“Who are you?”

“Jaelyn Fernandes. I am a Dragon Slayer, just like Natsu.”

“I see. What do you want from me?”

“He’s your little brother, right? Natsu. If he’s your brother, why doesn’t he remember you?”

“I brought him back from the dead centuries ago through creating the Etherious. I intended for it to kill me, but it instead gave my brother life, and made him the only being that has the Power to kill me. Why he does not remember me, has nothing to do with bringing him back to life. When I gave him to Igneel to be taught the ancient Dragon Slayer Magic, he erased the memories of Natsu’s early life from him and raised him as his own.”

Jaelyn sighs and carefully takes one of Zeref’s hands in hers, comforting him, but also prepared to release the appendage if necessary. “What of the other Slayers? Were their memories erased too?”

Zeref stares at the young girl with interest. “You speak as if you are not one of them.”

“I am a user of Dark Magic, and I was not born in the same time as them; I was somehow transported 400 years in the past. I have no right to be grouped in with those who are good; I am a monster. While my brother may be able to atone for his crimes due to being under the influence of someone’s Magic, I cannot, because I wasn’t.”

“You share one mind with him, don’t you, Jaelyn Fernandes? I have heard that much about you and your brother, Jellal. Whatever Magic controlled him may have controlled you to some extent.”

Jaelyn drops the man’s hand and stares at him in shock, unable to believe that she did not think that may be the case. Almost instinctively, her right hand moves to rest over the upper part of her left arm, her head dropping forward in shame. Her fingers latch onto the material and she rips it away from her arm, revealing a black Guild Mark of Grimoire Heart. Hovering her hand over the Dark Guilds’ symbol, she grits her teeth and steadies her trembling hand, feeling the most powerful Dark Wizard’s onyx eyes watching her every move.

“Dark Dragon Burning Claw.” Jaelyn cries out and her entire body shakes, recoiling as Zeref haltingly reaches for the young Mage. “I am going to… tear this Mark… from my body… if it’s the last thing I do!” Pain rockets through her body as her Slayer Magic tears at the skin of her arm, her dark green eyes screaming with agony and her breaths coming short and sharp. 

“You’re only going to hurt yourself,” Zeref berates the girl, feeling a strange pull to help her. “Stop this.”

“I can’t bear this Mark any longer!”

“Jaelyn, stop.”

The authority in the older man’s voice makes every muscle in her body lock up and her Magic halt its actions, the darkness around her right hand fading until there’s nothing left. Still shaking, she looks to her arm, only to see a bloody mess and the Grimoire Heart Guild Mark still branded into her skin.

**• • • • • •**

**Hey, superwolves!**

**(Gods, I need a new name for y’all since I’m no longer using that username. Do any of you even remember me having that username? That was a weird ass time… So, suggestions, anyone?)**

**Fun fact for the chapter: this was the second chapter of the story that I wrote, and I’m actually kind of proud of it, even if I don’t really know how to end it after four months of writing this book… Is that bad…? Probably, but there’s nothing I can really do about that. I mean, I made it longer, but that didn’t fucking help one bit.**

**I also may have made Zeref a little OC for this chapter… I tried not to, but it really didn’t wanna go my way… I think I did a pretty good job with him considering that he was kind of, I don’t want to say softer, but, yeah, softer before he killed Hades and Acnologia came into the picture.**

**Anyway, since writing this chapter, I’ve watched the rest of season 1 and almost all of season 2, and that means I’ve been chopping and changing between writing the chapters before this and the chapters after it. It’s been hectic and confusing, and I’ve been using a stupid transcript website that only goes up to the end of season 1, so it’s gonna be crazy writing some of the chapters for the ‘Grand Magic Games Arc’ and ‘Eclipse Arc’ episodes…**

**So, uh, if Jaelyn seems different in this chapter to what she has been in chapters before this, that’s why, and I do apologise for that, but I was writing two different versions of her at the same time, due to my own stupidity, and I may have ended up kind of mashing them awkwardly together.**

**\- Chey xo -**


	43. 40 • Grimoire Heart

Jaelyn goes still as someone walks towards her and Zeref, long dark hair flowing to the girl’s waist, and she sucks in a harsh breath, standing and moving in front of the Dark Wizard. The daughter of Ur, Ultear Milkovich, stands before Jaelyn, a flush covering her face as her dark eyes move behind the cobalt-haired girl to rest on the immortal Dark Wizard. Zeref watches the two interact, and it’s not hard to see who holds the most Power in this situation. Even though Ultear uses  _ Arc of Time _ Magic, it is no match for that of a First Generation Dragon Slayer - especially one as strong as Jaelyn.

“You found Lord Zeref,” Ultear breathes in disbelief, dark eyes wide with delight. “Wait. Why did you not inform Master Hades or myself of this?”

“I don’t answer to you,” Jaelyn snarls at the older girl, making her flinch back at the power in Jaelyn’s young voice. “If I were to tell Master Hades of this, don’t you think that Fairy Tail would have found me out and attempted to dispose of me by now,  _ daughter of Ur _ ?”

The Mage hisses in distaste, glaring at Jaelyn. “Never call me that again.”

In the blink of an eye, Jaelyn’s right hand is clamped around Ultear’s throat, a blank look on her face. “ _ Dark Dragon Burning Claw _ .” She raises her black hand threateningly. “Sure you want to push me, you little bitch? I couldn’t care less that you’re one of the Seven Kin of Purgatory, I am the Dark Dragon -  _ the Hand of Hades _ \- and that means I will kill you without a word of warning.”

“I’m sorry,” she rasps, real fear in her dark eyes. “Forgive me, Jaelyn.”

The Slayer spits in distaste and throws the older Mage to the ground. “You are spared, and it’s only because, without you, Meredy would have no family, after you, Kain and Zancrow destroyed her hometown she had no one, and yet you took her under your wing and raised her. That’s the only reason.”

Behind the two bickering Mages, the Black Wizard watches on with bottomless, piercing, dark eyes, not entirely sure as to what he should think about what he’s seeing. However, he doesn’t have to wait long; darkness surrounding him once again and flying out, sending the two unsuspecting Mages either sliding back a few feet or flying into the large rock face behind them. Jaelyn grits her teeth and plants her feet, looking up to find Zeref with a pained expression on his face. Before she can do anything, Ultear is on her feet and attacking the Dark Mage, knocking him out in a matter of moments. However, before the woman can pick up Zeref, Jaelyn darts forward and scoops the man up, baring her teeth and growling in warning at the manipulative Arc of Time user.

Shit hits the fan when Natsu appears and gets into a fight with Ultear, and then even more so when Lucy and another of the 7 Kin of Purgatory appear, making Jaelyn curse and drag Zeref away from the battle; out of harms’ way. The cobalt-haired Mage shields both herself and the Dark Mage in a mass of pure darkness, protecting them from the chaos of the four-way battle until Ultear enters and motions for the Dark Dragon Slayer to follow her, carrying Zeref’s dead weight between the two - despite Jaelyn letting out a warning growl when the Leader of the 7 Kin touches the Mage. Ultimately, they make it a decent way away from the battle before they’re interrupted by a close yell of pain, and it’s one that’s all too familiar to Jaelyn - Gray.

She listens as Ultear and Gray talk about Ur, still holding up Zeref, and trying her best not to scoff. Jaelyn must make some kind of noise because the Ice Make Mage turns his dark blue eyes to her, giving her a disbelieving and betrayed look. Almost imperceptibly, she gives him a slight shake of her head, raising a single finger and placing it on her temple. Gray simply blinks in response to Jaelyn’s motion and turns back to Ultear, wincing every so often as pain that is not his strikes his body thanks to Meredy’s  _ Sensory Link _ . As Ultear and Jaelyn leave, the Dark Dragon Slayer uses her  _ Telepathy  _ and enters Gray’s mind, making him flinch at the intrusion.

_ ‘You betrayed Fairy Tail,’ _ Gray snarls before she has a chance to say anything.

_ ‘Listen to me, Gray,’ _ Jaelyn pleads.  _ ‘There are things going on that you have no idea about. You have to trust me. I’ve earned that much over the past decade, haven’t I?’ _

_ ‘That was before you betrayed us for Grimoire Heart.’ _

_ ‘I’m not letting them get their filthy hands on Zeref - even if that means I have to give my life!’ _

She feels shock reverberate through his mind.  _ ‘Jae…’ _

_ ‘Ultear is lying, Gray - about everything. You need to stop her before it’s too late.’ _

Not much later, both Ultear and Meredy are down and out after a battle between the two Dark Mages and Gray. Juvia is safe once again, injured, but safe, and the other Fairy Tail Wizards’ battles are either reaching their climax or their end when the unthinkable happens: Tenrou Tree is cut down. Jaelyn drops Zeref and falls to her knees, feeling as though a hole has been punched right through her chest and her Magic has been severely depleted. Glaring up at where the Tree once stood tall and supreme, she knows that there is only one Mage who has the Power to do such a horrid thing: one of the 7 Kin of Purgatory, Azuma, who wields the power of  _ Great Tree Arc _ , a Magic more Lost than Dragon Slayer Magic.


	44. 41 • Acnologia and the Slayers

With Ultear and Meredy defeated and no longer on Tenrou, Tenrou Tree restored once Erza defeated Azuma, and Zeref nowhere to be found despite Jaelyn’s best attempts to find the Black Wizard, she’s at a loss for what to do. A sudden explosion in the distance alerts her to the possible location of Zeref, but all she can really make out despite her superior eyesight is the burning, smoking flying base of Grimoire Heart. The cobalt-haired teenager curses, and not just because of that, but also because of the ominous presence she can sense. The air seems to thicken with despair the moment Jaelyn fully comprehends just exactly what is coming for Tenrou Island; for them. 

No longer caring for finding Zeref, she spins on her heel and speeds through the trees, heading to where she can smell her Guild Mates majorly clustered together, her long cobalt hair getting caught on branches and trees now that it’s free of its usual long braid. Letting out a startled screech as she falls down a hill, she almost goes flying face-first into the hard ground at the bottom, but a pair of familiar hands grab her and help her upright, all the while laughing at her expense. Glaring up at Laxus through her messy blue hair, she slams the side of her fist into his stomach, making him cough in place of his laughter, before shoving her hair out of her face, not really caring about the vegetation currently residing within.

“We need to get the hell out of here,” Jaelyn says, her voice dark enough to startle Laxus, Bickslow and Gajeel out of their coughing laughter and make Gildarts look over to the other S-Class Mage. She meets the Crash Mage’s gaze evenly. “You’re not going to like what’s coming, so we better fucking run for our lives.”

However, it seems as though her warning is too late by the way everyone freezes and their eyes go wide. The female Fernandes swears and turns her gaze to the skies, instinctively gripping onto Laxus’ hand, almost startled when he returns the firm hold. A dark shape appears in the sky, soon revealed to be a dragon, and Natsu, being the smart idiot he is, tries to talk to it. Jaelyn curses the Fire Dragon Slayer before turning on her heel and running after Gildarts and everyone else, dragging Laxus behind her, Lavinia in a similar predicament with Bickslow.

Half the forest is wiped out with barely any effort, sending a handful of the fleeing Wizards flying. Jaelyn only remains standing because she slams back against the Lightning Dragon Slayer, his intimidating build - his  _ body mass _ \- being the only reason he didn’t go flying along with the others. She stares up at the black and blue dragon with a fear she hasn’t felt since the Tower of Heaven, and it’s only because she knows that, no matter what she does, they’re not going to win this one - not even using her and Jellal’s Heavenly Body Magic combined with her Dragon Slayer Magic through consuming Etherion.

Laxus releases Jaelyn and steps forward, his body shrouded in crackling lightning that makes her stomach churn, knowing that the older man is planning on doing. Lavinia steps up beside her older brother, a dim light coming off her body instead of the lightning of her twin. Jaelyn gives Makarov a pleading look, but he’s too busy staring up at the Dragon with a mixture of fear and shock. Gritting her teeth, the Dark Mage turning back to the only Mages other than Gray, Jellal and Mystogan that she can even remotely relate to, already hating this idea so very much.

“Let’s see what you’ve got, Dragon Slayers,” Laxus barks, making Natsu, Gajeel and Wendy walk forward and stand beside the blond(e) Dreyars.

Jaelyn shares a brief look with Makarov before stepping up beside the other Slayers, staring up at the giant black and electric blue Dragon that makes her skin crawl and her stomach churn, fully aware of the attention that’s now focused on her. She feels Gray’s and Bickslow’s comforting gazes on her, as well as Mira’s, Lavinia’s and Laxus’ - the others’ being more of confusion and disbelief due to them not having known. Wendy stares at Jaelyn with unabashed confusion and some kind of delight, and Gajeel simply smirks, the corner of his mouth quirking up as his red eyes burn bright. However, it’s Natsu’s reaction that really gets her - complete and utter betrayal and pain, his onyx eyes hurt what seems to be beyond current repair.

Laxus smirks. “ _ Lightning Dragon Roar _ !”

Lavina inhales. “ _ Moon Dragon Roar _ !”

“ _ Iron Dragon Roar _ ,” Gajeel bellows.

“ _ Sky Dragon Roar _ ,” Wendy yells.

Natsu gives Jaelyn a final look. “ _ Fire Dragon Roar _ !”

Jaelyn sucks in a deep breath and moves her feet further apart, bracing herself. “ _ Dark Dragon Roar _ !”

The streams of vibrant yellow, moonlight silver-white, shimmering silver, light blue, red-orange and pitch black twist together into one, all-powerful attack, but both Jaelyn and Gildarts know that it’s not going to be enough to even  _ scratch _ this monster above them. The combined attack lands and the lack of damage it makes horrifies nearly everyone, the Dark Mage gritting her teeth as Acnologia opens its mouth and a brilliant blue light gathers in its maw. For just a split second, out of the corner of her eye, before the attack hits, Jaelyn swears that she sees Fairy Tail’s First Master standing not too far away, but the thought is flung from her mind the moment she herself is flung through the air at the attack’s contact.

She reaches for the person closest to her, which turns out to be Gray, but he’s swept away in a wave of Magic, along with Juvia clinging desperately to his side, and Natsu, Lucy and Happy not too far away. Gildarts and Cana go flying off in another direction, the Strauss siblings in a similar predicament alongside Makarov. Levy’s small body appears to be squished between those of Gajeel and a grown Panther Lily, Wendy and Carla clinging onto the overgrown black cat as best they can before being ripped away and sent flying somewhere else, the Sky Dragon Slayer’s scream echoing.

Evergreen, Freed and Bickslow are carried off in directions far from each other, the Seith Mage’s “babies” scattering in the waves of Magic and Lavinia latched onto the younger male. There’s a flash of yellow and then a pair of arms encompass Jaelyn and Marlie, holding them both close to a body as, being closest to the blast, she and the Exceed are thrown, spiraling and flailing, into the air. She grips the person tightly and squeezes her eyes shut, Marlie clinging to Jaelyn, both wishing that this was not happening, but their wish is unable to come true even as Jaelyn’s head collides with something solid and the world is enveloped in pure darkness with a sudden spike of pain.


	45. 42 • 7 Year Slumber and Repercussions

The earth seems to shudder and quake beneath her, and that’s the first sign that something is utterly wrong. The second is both panicked and excited shouts echoing in the distance, and that makes her eyes fly open and her limbs attempt to move. However, that endeavour is one that she currently cannot manage to do, and Jaelyn assumes that it must have something to do with the weight bearing down on top of her. Whilst it is uncomfortable as well as familiar, she cannot place it - even her mind is too slow and fogged up to recognise the scents around her. Beside her, curled around one of her arms, is a small ball of black and blonde fur, and it’s comforting to know that she’s not alone right now.

Jaelyn feels Jellal’s mind connect with hers once again, and what happens leaves her almost paralysed in shock and fear. A flood of memories bombards her mind and her eyes widen in horror, tears burning for a few seconds as she realises that everyone on Tenrou Island has been presumed dead for the past seven years because none of them returned after the events with Zeref and Acnologia. Besides that, it seems as though her brother has finally regained his memories, and that’s more of a relief than Jaelyn cares to admit in this instance; still caught up in being somewhat crushed.

_‘Jaelyn?’_ her twin asks in disbelief._ ‘You’re still alive?’_

_‘What the hell happened?’ _she demands. _‘It’s been _seven fucking years _since Acnologia and Zeref?’_

_‘Yes, and much has changed since that day.’_

_‘What about them? Has anything happened?’_

_‘No one has seen or heard of anything concerning them for all those years.’_

_‘That’s so not good.’ _Jaelyn growls in irritation as she remains unable to move._ ‘Ouch! Fuck. I think I just twisted something.’_

Jellal sounds to be instantly worried._ ‘What’s going on?’_

_‘Long story short, I’m stuck under something. You can see the rest for yourself.’_

_‘Ah, I see. I guess I’ll see you soon, little sister.’_

_‘Same goes, dumbass brother.’_

Cursing, the cobalt-haired Dark Dragon Slayer turns her head and searches through hazy eyes for something to help her, but is put off by finding a familiar blond head attached to a burly, tattooed body almost in direct eyesight, too close to get a clear enough view, but not that far away that it’s unidentifiable. Wriggling her hands free from where they’re half trapped amidst rubble and limbs, Jaelyn reaches up and repeatedly lightly slaps Laxus’ face in an attempt to wake the Second Generation Lightning Dragon Slayer, but it doesn’t seem to be working.

“Oi, you blond fucker,” she barks. “Wake up before I hurt you.”

He groans, opening one eye and peering down at her. “That’s the thanks I get for saving your ass from being crushed?” She doesn’t understand until he removes his weight from her and rubble rolls off his broad back and drops to the ground. “You’re hard to please, blue.”

“How the fuck was I meant to know that’s why you were on top of me?” She accepts the hand he holds out, his muscles barely being used as he pulls her off the ground. “But, yeah, thanks, Laxus. I guess it would have been worse if it had crushed me.” She picks Marlie up from the rubble and carefully dusts the Exceed off with a small smile. “Not sure if anyone else would have done it since what happened with Acnologia all those years ago.”

He seems to smile down at her, and it’s a smile she hasn’t seen in months. “I would’ve saved your ass even if - wait, years?” Laxus peer down at her with tired, confused grey eyes. “What the fuck do you mean by that?”

“You know how my twin and I are basically the same person - memories, Magic, and all that?” When he nods, Jaelyn continues. “When I woke up, all his memories of the past _seven years_ popped into my head. We’ve been asleep for _seven whole years_, Laxus, and the whole world has moved on without us. We’re _dead _to them all back at Fairy Tail; thought to have died when Acnologia attacked this island.”

The Second Generation Slayer has no time to respond before Gray, Lucy and Natsu are running towards him and Jaelyn, a handful of others from Fairy Tail that weren’t on Tenrou not too far behind them. Bickslow, Lavinia and the other two members of the Thunder Legion are not too far behind, reminding Jaelyn of the one thing she didn’t get the chance to tell Laxus about before their reunion was interrupted by Zeref, Grimoire Heart and Acnologia.

The cobalt-haired girl instantly recognises Max and Alzack when the come closer, and she’s quick to be pulled into a hug by the latter, followed by the former. It feels strange to he held by someone she has a limited connection to, but, after the hellish seven years they’ve had without those on this island, it’s hard to blame them for doing such a thing. Jaelyn hesitates when it comes to Gray, not sure where they stand after was reminded of her involuntarily being part of Grimoire Heart, but she’s suddenly crushed against his ice-cold body, his arms wrapped around her tightly.

The younger girl half breaks down in his comforting and reassuring hold, knowing that he understands her better than he lets on. The Ice Make Mage has known almost everything about her since their small fling a few years ago - when she was sixteen and he was fifteen - and the Dark Dragon Slayer doesn’t regret telling him any of it. It’s similar to her and Laxus - only a year after her and Gray went their separate ways, which was then followed by her and Lavinia not too long after she and Laxus stopped with their little thing. No hard feelings were left between any of them, and they’re pretty much best friends.

At the thought of her friends, her worry for the members of Fairy Tail that weren’t stuck on Tenrou Island and she pulls away from Gray, turning her gaze out to the open ocean. “Everything has changed the years we’ve been stuck here, and it worries me what we might find when we return home.”

“I know the feeling,” the blonde Celestial Mage says almost wistfully, but nowhere as naive as when she first joined Fairy Tail all those months ago - no, not months, but _years_. “I don’t know what’s going to happen, but I do know that we’re all going to be there to face it together. We’re a family after all.”

Jaelyn doesn’t pull her hand away when Lucy entwines their fingers, but she’s unsure as to whose benefit it is. “So I’m still “family” then? After everything that’s happened, it’s good to know that.”

“Of course you’re family,” Natsu laughs, slinging his left arm around Jaelyn’s shoulders and his right around Lucy’s. His eyes grin at her when Jaelyn looks over at him. “I doesn’t matter that you didn’t tell us about bein’ a Dragon Slayer, all that matters is that you’re a member of Fairy Tail.”

“Natsu…”

Before another word can pass through her lips, white-hot pain stabs her abdomen and her eyes fly wide in horror, her stomach churning as she turns and runs into what remains of the forest. She hears their sudden exclamations of horror, but she can’t bring herself to face them as she hides herself amongst the bushes, her hand coming away from her jean-clad inner thigh covered in dark red blood. In her shock-induced dulled hearing, she doesn’t hear him walk over to her and crouch down beside her, and, when his hand comes to rest on her shoulder, she’s slow to look up at him with tears swimming in her red-rimmed, horrified eyes.

Bickslow’s eyes turn pained the second they land on her blood-covered hands and the dark patch on her black jeans, and Jaelyn swears that his heart shatters within the confines of his ribcage, an answering pain resonating where her own blackened heart thuds in agony. With her name leaving his lips in a pained breath, he pulls her into a more than welcome hug, knowing exactly how she feels right now. It wasn’t just her child that she just lost, but also his child; the life they created together, accidental or not, was still theirs to nurture and grow until they were old enough to go out on their own.

“I’m sorry, little dragon,” Bickslow murmurs, trying not to wince as she holds him tighter than what’s comfortable, knowing that she needs this right now. “I’m so sorry.”

Jaelyn shakes her head, hair becoming more messy as it sticks to her forehead and face from her sweat and tears, finding herself unable to look up at him. “No, this isn't your fault. It’s mine… It’s never stuck before, so why the hell should it have stuck this time?!”

“Jaelyn…”

“This isn't on either of you,” a young, kind voice assures the pair, making them look up at the newcomer with red-rimmed eyes still threatening to overflow with tears. Before them stands the ghost of Fairy Tail’s First Master, Mavis Vermillion, and it almost shocks the pair right out of their current states as she places a hand on each of their shoulders, a warm, but sad, smile on her face. “If anyone is to blame, it would be me. I saved all those on this island who bear the Mark of Fairy Tail, whether their true allegiance is to the Guild or not, and, unfortunately, your unborn child did not have the Mark that would have saved them.”

Jaelyn stares up at the young girl, not entirely sure what to make of her. “How are you here? You’re dead; you died almost a century ago. Your body-”

“Is not on this island, correct. It’s odd how you know of where it is kept, considering that you have never been a Guild Master, but I find it of no necessity to remove that detail from your mind, Jaelyn Fernandes.” The blonde girl suddenly smiles brilliantly. “You are a true member of Fairy Tail, and, as such, you must return to Magnolia with your Guild Mates.”

Bickslow grins widely and stands, pulling Jaelyn up with him, the Seith Mage easily towering over both the First Master and the former Hand of Hades. He goes to walk away, Jaelyn’s dry blood covered hand still clutched in his, but is quickly stopped by Mavis, both bluenette’s looking back at the smiling girl. Her hand comes up and rests on Jaelyn’s left shoulder, on top of her blood-crusted Grimoire Heart Guild Mark, a bright light coming from her hand and shining onto the Mark. The Dark Dragon Slayer barely flinches as the Mark is burnt from her body, leaving behind yet another unhealable scar on the teenager’s body, and she smiles thankfully at the First Master before she’s almost dragged from the forest and over to their Guild Mates by a gleeful Bickslow.

Laxus is instantly by her side, grey eyes noticing the lack of Guild Mark on her shoulder. “What the hell was that all about? You ran off for no damn reason and made my sister panic.”

Lavinia rolls her eyes as she walks over to them. “You were worrying too, so don’t even bother denying it.” She turns her grey eyes to Jaelyn. “We could all smell the blood, Jae. What happened?”

Jaelyn flinches back, hitting Bickslow, and shakes her head. “Don’t worry about it. I’ll tell you when we get back to Magnolia.”

Bickslow’s brow furrows as a pained smile twists his lips. “It’s not something for prying ears - especially those of a certain Dragon Slayer who can’t keep his mouth shut.”

As Natsu is quick to fire back at the Seith Mage, sparking a bickering that doesn’t end until they’re back in Magnolia, Jaelyn is quickly pulled against Laxus, the giant man refusing to let the smaller girl go even when they’re sitting in the make-shift Fairy Tail Guild Hall that they’ve been forced to work from ever since their strongest members were trapped on Tenrou Island for seven years. Although, it’s not as though she can blame the older man because, in all honesty, she wants to be just as close to him after the months they’d been apart.

She barely recognises her motion sickness as an issue curled up against the Lightning Dragon Slayer aboard the ship on their way back home, instead she feels something akin to smugness coming from across the ship, and a strange softness coming from her twin, wherever he may be right now. Peering over at Gray, she finds him in Juvia’s hold, a delighted smile on her face, and an embarrassed one on his, his dark blue eyes flickering over to Jaelyn and Laxus every once in a while, making a smirk briefly appear on his face. She rolls her eyes at the younger male, but can’t help the content smile that works its way onto her face despite everything she just went through on that island.

Gray and Bickslow both wince at that thought, making Jaelyn blink in surprise. It seems that the more their bond is used, the more emotions and sensations flow freely between the three of them. That thought makes her peek up at Laxus, only to see a somewhat dark frown on his face as he sleeps, sitting up against the wall of the ship and holding the female Dragon Slayer against him. She sighs in relief, but there’s an edge of tension to it as she’s not entirely sure if, even in his sleeping state, he heard or saw the thought or memory of that heart-shattering ordeal. If he did, then the conversation will come quicker than she’d like, but at least it’d be out of the way and they’d be able to make an attempt to move on from what she never wants to happen ever again.


	46. 43 • Reinstatement at the Guild

The members of Fairy Tail who weren’t trapped in a seven year slumber on Tenrou Island were more than happy to welcome back their comrades, and Jaelyn even managed to get dragged into a hug by an aged up Kinana, something about the Dark Mage drawing the former serpent, and childhood friend of Erik, to her. If anyone else were to know of her past, Jaelyn’s not sure whether the young girl would be allowed to remain within the walls of this infamous Guild for fear she might turn on them, or they might turn on her. Then again, the same could be said in reference to Jaelyn herself.

“Hey, little Kina,” Jaelyn greets with a smile. “Can I even call you that now that you’re technically older than me?”

Kinana grins widely. “You can, if you want to, because, even though you were on Tenrou Island for seven years, you’re still the older sister I never had - and you’re still older than me.”

Once the excitement has died down, the Dark Dragon Slayer has been pulled on Laxus’ lap, the burly man’s arms wrapped around her middle as they listen to Makarov read out a letter from Gildarts. Jaelyn sighs with a sad smile at realising that the man has, yet again, decided to leave for some unknown reason, but she’s quickly ripped from those thoughts when Makarov reads out that the Crash Mage has reinstated Laxus as a member of Fairy Tail by using his brief Power as Guild Master, right before he hands Power back over to Makarov. 

The unexpected decision causes the Thunder Legion to cheer in delight and almost drag the Lightning Dragon Slayer into a group hug, Jaelyn being the only one allowed to somewhat physically congratulate him due to her current predicament. However, that doesn’t stop Lavinia from punching her older brother’s shoulder, grinning like the madwoman she is, the crescent scar on her right eye appearing to vanish for a moment, but only as a trick of the light. Laxus smirks and closes his eyes briefly, shaking his head as if he can’t believe what Gildarts has done, but he ultimately accepts with barely a heartbeat’s hesitation.

It’s barely half an hour later that everyone in the Guild is celebrating the return of everyone who was trapped on Tenrou Island due to Mavis’  _ Fairy Sphere _ . Erza and Makarov are sitting on the roof, talking to each other about Jellal having “escaped” from prison, and there’s a brawl going on just outside the front doors as those who have been getting stronger for the past several years attempt to overpower those who have been asleep for that period of time. It’s safe to say that they get their asses handed to them once Natsu enters  _ Lightning Flame Dragon Mode _ and proves just how Powerful he can be when he puts his mind to it. 

Instead of joining in the festivities, somewhere deep in the forest surrounding the rundown Guild replacement Hall, away from prying eyes and ears, Bickslow, Lavinia, Laxus and Jaelyn, as well as Marlie, of course, are enveloped in awkwardness and palpable tension. The Dark Dragon Slayer has changed out of her bloody and torn clothes, now wearing a pair of short denim overalls, a dark, three-quarter length sleeved shirt, and her usual pair of combat boots, hair in an annoying long braid down her back. She’s twitching under the uncomfortably blank stare of the Lightning Dragon Slayer, but they’re lessened by the comforting looks on both the Seith Mage’s and the Moon Dragon Slayer’s faces, and the way that the Exceed is clutching her lower leg.

“So that’s why you ran off and smelt like blood,” Laxus says in a flat voice. “ _ Fairy Sphere _ didn’t save the life of the child you were carrying because they didn’t bear the Guild Mark, or have any bonds with the Guild because no one knew about them other than these two-” he makes a motion in the general direction of his sister and friend, making Jaelyn wince- “and Gray. Should I throw that iron bastard and Mystogan in with them too?”

“I couldn’t exactly tell you, could I?” Jaelyn spits at the other Slayer. “I didn’t fucking know where you were! I didn’t know who else I could turn to! What was I meant to do, Laxus?!”

“Mavis, blue, I don’t know! I don’t know…”

Bickslow sighs and tugs his visor off, rubbing his tired face. “We’ve been through enough hell in the past few months to last us a lifetime, and losing this child was the icing on the damned cake for all of us.”

“None of this was planned by us, but it’s life,” Lavinia mutters. “So just suck it up and accept it.”

Jaelyn can’t help the snort of derision that leaves her. “That’s unusually blunt for you, Lav. Is the Dreyar tact finally kicking in, or has Laxus’ dull personality rubbed off on you?”

The Moon Dragon Slayer rolls her eyes and says nothing, already tired of the bickering between the Dark Dragon Slayer and the Lightning Dragon Slayer. Standing between the latter two Slayers, the Seith Mage sighs and, half-aware of his actions, he picks up the Exceed when she reaches up to him, holding the small ball of fur. Jaelyn lips quirk up into a soft smile at Bickslow’s actions, Laxus’ narrowed eyes softening at the appearance of the smile, and Lavinia making an amused sound as she watches her chosen Mate soothe Marlie. The small Exceed herself is quite content in the lanky man’s hold, purring just loud enough that the Dragon Slayers and Seith Mage can hear her.

Now that Laxus and Lavinia have returned, Jaelyn finds it feels strange to have Bickslow stay at her place any longer - now that he really has no reason to do so with their child gone. The last part of the thought makes her internally wince, three pairs of eyes turning all the attention from the man and the cat to her. She waves their concern off and scratches between the cat’s ears, managing to coax the small being away from the tall man and into her own arms, the creature purring as it nuzzles against her chest like, well, like a kitten. As much as Jaelyn wishes this would disperse her agonising thoughts, she’s not surprised by the fact they’re still hanging around by the time she reaches the home she hasn’t been in for seven years.

The Dark Dragon Slayer puts the Exceed on the ground and looks at her home. “Well, it’s clean for not been having lived in for seven fucking years… Jellal, don’t tell me this was your doing.”

The Heavenly Body Mage laughs from where he’s standing against the far wall. “Of course it was my doing. Even though I thought you were, you weren’t dead, and I couldn’t leave you with no place to call home when you came back, so we made sure it was cleaned and taken care of.”

“You, Meredy and Ultear did this? Honestly, if I couldn’t see it for myself, I wouldn’t believe a word you’re saying; I know Ur’s daughter too well for that, but at least she’s somewhat changed over the years I’ve been frozen on that godforsaken island.”

“Jaelyn, don’t be like this. You’ve been through much worse than losing a child - which you’ve been through time and time again. I know it doesn’t get easier, but, one day, you will be able to hold a child - your child - in your arms and  _ know that you did it _ .”

Jaelyn throws herself at her older twin, who, originally thinking she’s going to attack him, recoils away from her, relaxes the moment her arms are wrapped tightly around him, hugging him in a way that neither have been held in years. He’s also quick to reciprocate the hug, holding the one person he’d never thought he’d get the chance to have in his arms once again, except for the possibility of one day finding her dead body on one of his journeys across Fiore and holding her as he cried. Both quiver at that all too real possibility and tighten their hold on the other.

There’s nothing in this world that’s more terrifying to the cobalt-haired Fernandes twins than losing the other. It’s something that’s been ingrained in their very DNA since their earliest days - tiny, chubby hands clasped together as they sleep in their crib; warm and caring, helping hands pulling up the other from where they crashed after their Magic went wrong; long and short cobalt hair braided with flowers from the meadows behind their house; laughter at the others’ expense when they’d end up in a disaster; having the others’ back when the bullies would have a go at them for whatever reason - be it their hair, the tattoos they were born with, their equally feminine builds as small children, or how softly spoken they both were until someone enraged one or both of the twins.

“Hey, blue, can we talk?” Laxus calls, walking into her home without permission and knocking on the doorframe, stopping short when he sees Jaelyn and Jellal hugging like their life depends on it. “Jellal, I didn’t expect you to be so close to Magnolia after your run in with us.”

Jellal looks over at Laxus, giving him a once over, and releases Jaelyn, dark eyes not leaving the burly man. “I am here to see my sister, nothing more. I will be gone in a few days, but I have some things to do in Magnolia beforehand, so expect more visits.”

“Of course you’re running off again to play the hero,” Jaelyn teases her older brother, but not without a small amount of venom in her voice. “Guess I won’t be seeing you again until the Grand Magic Games, huh?”

“Actually…”

“You want me to go with you, Ultear and Meredy?”

Laxus crosses his arms and frowns. “Look, as happy as I am to see you reunited after seven years, Jaelyn and I need to talk, and you know what it’s about. Can you do this some other time before you leave Magnolia?”

Jellal nods and pulls the hood over his head. “I’ll drop by tomorrow, Jae. Laxus, it’s best if you’re here as well, considering how close the both of you are.”

Jaelyn laughs. “In that case, should I invite Gray, Bickslow and Lavinia, and Erza, as well, big brother?”

“That would make them worry less, so maybe you should.”

“...I was kidding…”

Without another word, Jellal leaves Jaelyn and Laxus in the former’s open-plan house, both rocked by the fact the Heavenly Body Mage is willing to risk his safety by inviting more Mages -  _ Fairy Tail Mages _ \- to know that he’s no longer in prison. Leaning against the back of her lounge, the Dark Dragon Slayer sighs and shakes her head in exasperation, not understanding just what’s going through her brother’s mind right now despite their bond. The Lightning Dragon Slayer huffs and leans against the doorframe, grey eyes watching the younger girl in front of him in case she decides to do something even more reckless than usual.

“What did you want to talk about, sparky?” she murmurs in a tired voice, dark green eyes dull as they peer over at him. “Today has been exhausting enough as it is, so I don’t want to dump you in the fucking canal again.”

“Yeah, I deserved that,” he admits, smiling slightly at the memory and shaking his head. “No need to do that again - once was enough, and I’m not that asshole anymore.”

“Good. So, what’s on your mind?”

“I just want to know… You and Bix…”

“Me and Bickslow? No, there’s nothing there, but I still kept our child, and I was going to raise it with him even if you came blundering back into our lives. In a way, it was going to be my chance at creating life instead of destroying it, but that’s not going to happen now.” Jaelyn smiles sadly. “A drunken night with Mystogan and Bickslow ending up with me pregnant? Mavis, that sounds like a bad joke, and, yeah, I know that I should have phrased that differently.”

Laxus chuckles. “Most definitely, blue. Look, you know how I am, and you know that I’m pissed, but also that I understand and don’t blame you. I know you didn’t do it to lash out at me, but it still feels that way.”

“I get where you’re coming from, and I don’t blame you for thinking that, but it was slightly me lashing out at you. You left without really saying goodbye: one minute we were falling asleep, and the next it was morning and you were gone.”

“Jaelyn…”

“It wasn’t just because of you, though. Erik and Jellal were arrested after what happened with Nirvana… The Anima was coming, and I just  _ knew _ that I was going to lose Mystogan… I felt so goddamn alone, and Bix was there for me. I shouldn’t have let myself do it, but I couldn’t make myself give a fuck about practically  _ using _ Bix to make myself feel better. Then again, I know he was doing the same to me. After all, Lavinia left not long after you did, so he must have been feeling so alone…”

“You’re not alone now.”

Laxus surges towards her, pulling her against his large body and staring down at her, one of his large hands on her lower back and the other cupping her face. There’s plenty of time for her to flee, but, instead, Jaelyn reaches up and pulls him down to meet her, crashing their hungry mouths together in a battle of pure dominance. His hands roughly grab her behind before moving down to her thighs and lifting her onto the back of the lounge, her lithe legs on either side of his hips and her ankles locked behind him, holding the large man against her as her fingers weave into his hair and pull sharply, drawing a deep growl from her prey.

His hands make quick work of undoing the buttons on her overalls and removing her shirt, throwing it somewhere out of their way. In response, her scaled hands rip his shirt off him and toss it to the side, nails digging into his upper back as he makes his way from her mouth down to her throat, deep growls rumbling in his chest as her hips roll against his, more than eager to welcome him back in their usual fashion. Jaelyn’s hands are nimble and familiar as they work on relieving Laxus of his belt and undoing the button and zipper on his purple jeans. Before she can push them down, Laxus picks her up with ease and makes his way to her bedroom, all the while kissing her like there’s no tomorrow for either of them, her hands back up in his blond hair as he lays her on the bed.

He reluctantly pulls away from her to remove his pants, but is soon hovering over her, his lips leaving an electrifying path from her throat down to her abdomen and then to her ankles as he removes the final piece of major clothing from her body, rendering her almost bare to his darkened eyes. She’s quick to drag him back down to her, and he’s equally as quick to follow her lead, knowing that there’s no use in fighting her when she has her sights set on what she wants. In a matter of moments, they’re utterly bare to one another, and she’s sitting atop him, her clawed hands slightly digging into his chest and his like iron on her hips as their bodies move together. Darkness and lightning zip along respective skin, colliding in a colourful display where their skin is touching, barely able to tell when one starts and the other begins.

**• • • • • •**

**Hey, superwolves.**

**So, I finally got around to finishing this chapter, and I've made it a bit longer than usual to make up for my lack of updates - and to make up for the lack of focus on the actual main pairing for this bloody story. Honestly, after the past few chapters, I feel as though Jaelyn deserves some goddamn happiness for a change.**

**As I've mentioned before, our resident Dark Dragon Slayer is going to be heading off with Jellal during the whole ** ** _Key of the Starry Sky Arc_ ** ** because, in all honesty, the only things I like about that part are the fact that Erik's back, and the NaLu scenes. Also, apparently, it's an anime-only arc, and I don't know what happens between this arc - ** ** _X791 Arc_ ** ** \- and the ** ** _Grand Magic Games Arc_ ** ** in the manga.**

**\- Chey xo -**


	47. 44 • Crime Sorcière, the Witches Crime

Laying beside Laxus when the moon is high in the sky, Jaelyn lightly traces the black tattoo on his left side, scaled fingers brushing over where his freshly applied Guild Mark proudly stands out. She never thought she’d get the chance to be this close to him again, so she’s taking every moment that she can, awake or asleep. Still, despite that burning desire, she finds her eyes becoming heavy and her body craving the sleep she’s put off for the past few hours, deciding to, instead, stock up on darkness to fuel her Dragon Slayer Magic, and memorise the profile of the other Dragon Slayer beside her.

It’s only a few hours later that Jaelyn wakes again, this time unable to go back to sleep as the dawn sun creeps in through her bedroom window. Every fibre of her body is saying that something is wrong, and she can’t exactly ignore such an overwhelming feeling. Sitting up, she looks over at Laxus, smiling softly when she finds his eyes peeling open to peer up at her in confusion, the fog of sleep still present for him. He returns the smile and stretches minutely before sitting up beside her, pulling her close and pressing an unexpected, gentle kiss to her messy cobalt hair.

“Morning, blue,” his deep voice rumbles, sending a shiver down her spine. “I have to say, I’ve missed this.”

“You’ve missed fucking me?” she half-teases. “That’s lovely, sparky.”

“That, and waking up beside you - and just being with you.”

“You’re turning sappy on me. I think I like it.”

“Don’t get used to it,” Laxus grumbles against her head. “Not going to happen often.”

“Wasn’t planning on it,” Jaelyn replies with a smile. “Speaking of not planning something, I’m cutting my fucking hair. It’s too long, and got in the way on Tenrou Island. Mavis knows how it’s going to go at the Grand Magic Games this year.”

Without waiting for either agreement or disagreement from him, she climbs off her bed and tugs on the shirt Mystogan left behind and a pair of underwear, picking up a pair of scissors off her cupboard on her way to the bathroom. Taking one look in the mirror, she grins before beginning to hack off her waist-length cobalt hair, Laxus standing in the doorway, watching as the hair cascades to the tiled floor. A few moments later, Jaelyn’s head feels a ton lighter and her hair barely reaches past her shoulders, close enough to Jellal’s current haircut that they may well be confused for the other if one wasn’t to look closely enough.

Before she can ask what Laxus thinks, Jellal appears behind the Lightning Dragon Slayer, a faint, amused smile on his face as he takes in his twin’s new style. Jaelyn grins and pokes her tongue out childishly, making the pair of borderline emotionless Mages smile, a sight that makes her stomach feel as though it has butterflies within and her wild grin to morph into a soft smile. It’s rare to have either of them smile genuinely at her, or at all, so having both of them do it at the same time… well, it’s almost a miracle, and it’s one she wouldn’t mind happening repetitively.

“You brought them with you then?” Jaelyn asks her twin as she pulls on her overalls from the previous day, opting to leave Mystogan’s shirt on instead of wearing her own. Her eyes move over to the females in question, smiling slightly when she sees how much Meredy has changed. “It’s barely sunrise, so I can’t guarantee that those I’ve Bonded with are going to be awake.”

“Bickslow is awake, and he’s on his way with my sister,” Laxus rumbles from behind her. “Strangely enough, they were already coming here without me telling them. You wanted them here, didn’t you?”

“I haven’t asked Gray.” She pauses and turns her head to the window as she catches his scent. “And he’s apparently here as well. Something strange is going on lately.”

Within a matter of fifteen minutes, the Mages are sitting in various places around Jaelyn’s open-plan living area, cups of coffee in their grasps as they slowly come to comprehend just what Jellal has suggested. In fact, Jaelyn seems to be the only one not remotely surprised by what her twin has suggested - Laxus even slightly put off even though he already knew of it. Gray’s dark blue eyes are tired, just about ready to let his friend run off without much debate, and no one can blame him. Lavinia has turned into a stone-faced female version of her twin brother, much to the surprise of none, but she’s not sure what she can say to keep her best friend from following Jellal. Bickslow is a different story: he doesn’t want Jaelyn to go, at all, and that’s equally understandable as everyone else’s reactions - maybe more so considering that she only lost their child the previous day.

Jaelyn lets the few Mages stew in their thoughts as she heads to her bedroom and pulls a bag out of her cupboard, throwing in clean underclothes and a few different shirts to wear with her short overalls, as well as necessary hygiene products and another pair of combat boots. With everything she’s been through since she set foot in Magnolia, and even before that, she needs to get away from everything no matter who tries to stop her. Turning her head to the left slightly, a faint smile tugs at her lips as she drops her bag onto the bed and turns to look at the one she knew would refuse to let her leave.

“You know I have to,” she says with a tight smile, watching as his expression turns pained. “Between losing everyone I did a few months ago - no, _years ago_ \- and losing my child only yesterday, I need to get out of Magnolia for a while. I’ll come back in time for the Grand Magic Games, so don’t worry about me too much, alright?”

Gray makes a pained sound. “I get it, I do, but…”

“Hey, I’ll keep in contact. You just worry about Juvia, and get around to admitting to her how you feel about the poor girl. She’s only seventeen, you know? Give her a chance before it’s too late, alright?”

“Yeah, I know… Just, be safe out there, alright? There are still people out there who want you either dead or as a puppet.”

Jaelyn laughs. “You’re acting like this is new news, ice boy. It’s been like this ever since Grimoire Heart got their hands on me not long before I joined Fairy Tail, so I’ve grown accustomed to it.”

He makes an agreeing sound. “I guess that’s true.”

“I’ll have my brother to help me if I get myself in a stupid mess, and I don’t doubt you’ll give me hell for it through our Bond - both you and Bickslow. Lavinia and Laxus will just laugh at my complete idiocy, but I might just get hell from sparky after that. So, don’t go thinking that I’ll get out of it without having you lot jumping down my throat.”

“We’re not that bad, are we?”

Jaelyn gives Gray a look and he laughs, nodding in agreement and allowing her to pass with her bag full of everything she’ll possibly need during her time with Crime Sorcière. Lavinia is long gone by the time the younger Dragon Slayer is back out with the rest of those who’ve known her for almost two decades, and the younger girl can’t disagree with the dull pain she feels in her chest. Ultear and Meredy are also nowhere to be seen, leaving Jellal, Bickslow and Laxus behind in a somewhat awkward and tense silence, with only the dull rumble of Gray and Jaelyn’s conversation to be heard.

“You’re going off with them then?” Laxus says without emotion, grey eyes dull and uncaring.

Jaelyn looks over at the man and sighs. “Yeah, I am, and you know why - everyone here knows why.”

“Yeah, yeah. I know. Just get your ass back here in one piece, alright, blue?”

“Don’t I always, sparky?”


	48. 45 • A Day in the Life

Leaving Magnolia behind is easier than Jaelyn thought it would be.

Still, as she and her brother stand a fair distance from the city, she can’t help but stop and look back at the place she’s begun to call home. It looks so small and insignificant, and the mass of familiar scents are faint, almost unreadable, at this distance. Something within Jaelyn is begging for her to return to the city, almost crying inside her, but she turns and continues after Jellal, Ultear and Meredy, knowing that this is the best possible outcome for her at this current time.

Magnolia has been at the core of her heartbreak and struggles too many times, and she’s not sure just how much longer she can remain there knowing that hell will once again break loose and end in disaster yet again. The city has been a battleground on countless occasions, and something tells her that, yet again, it will be covered in blood and misery. No one will have a happy ending, no matter how hard they try or how much they plead and cry - and the more people know that, the better. Life will go on, but it will never be the same as it was before. And yet, everyone seems to continue on with happy lives when the dust settles - something neither Fernandes twin or their companions understand.

A few hours into their walking, Jaelyn hums and spins rocks around in the space above her palm, throwing the occasional one at her older brother, simply grinning in response to his irritated scowl, Ultear and Meredy fighting back their laughter. She’s making up for the years they were unable to be real children, and Jellal can’t blame her for doing such a heartbreak-worthy thing. He soon finds himself firing rocks back at his little sister, but that’s before they gang up on their companions and start a war they’re more than likely to win despite the two females being equally as strong as the twins. The four of them deserve something so carefree and childish after their mutually as heart wrenching childhoods.

“Where are we actually heading, Jel?” Jaelyn asks once they settle into their hotel room at an inn in Onibus, a small town almost a days walk North-East of Magnolia. She reclines on her bed for the night and peers over at her twin through tired eyes, watching as he removes his blue cloak, dark coat and plated armour, placing them on the cupboard beside his chosen bed. “You’re not letting me see anything, so I’m more in the dark than ever right now, and it’s unnerving. What can’t you tell me?”

Jellal looks over at her through his slightly long, scraggly hair as he sits on his bed for the night. “I wasn’t sure whether you’d agree to come if you knew where we are headed first, and you can’t blame me for that, Jae.”

“Just tell me.”

“Bosco. Bickslow’s father has an issue he wants handled, and one of his sons reached out to us. I’m not sure how he managed to find us, but he did.”

“Arman has something he can’t handle on his own? Fucking hell, this might just be one hell of a shit show.” She sits up and sighs, shaking her head. “Do you know which of Bix’s brothers it was?”

He ponders for a second, trying to think of which brother, but ultimately can’t decide. “No idea. He had dark hair. That’s all I really remember about him.”

“That narrows it down to three out of five… Anything else? Eye colour? Tattoos? Attitude?”

“His eyes were similar to Bickslow’s, and he was rather irritable.”

“Mavis, I feel sorry for you, Jellal. You had to deal with Vander on your own.” Jaelyn’s smile turns soft as she thinks about the Shadowquip Mage. “The poor kid is the only Mage of his kind, and his devil-may-care attitude gets him in a fucking lot of trouble.”

Jellal peers at her, watching as she seems at ease talking about the Mage. “How much have you had to do with Bickslow’s brothers and sisters?”

That one question sparks quite the discussion between the twins, and, soon, they’re both laughing at some of the stories Jaelyn tells Jellal about the youngest members of the Pradesh family - Vander and Emzadi, Cristoff, Zen, and Xally - and occasionally throws in one or two about Bickslow, Kaleb and Farron. She even mentions the time Arman himself was too drunk to make it to his bed after challenging Jaelyn and his sons to a drinking contest, which he ultimately lost, and ended up passing out near where they kept the animals, which lead to him waking to quite a nasty surprise. Jellal is shocked to hear his little sister tell such stories considering their past, but he also knows that she’s been friends with Bickslow since he first joined the Fairy Tail Guild not long after she did - when no one else wanted anything to do with the Seith Mage due to the Magic he happened to use.

Jaelyn can’t help anticipating seeing the outgoing Pradesh family again, wondering how much they’ve changed in the past seven years - if they’ve changed at all. She knows that they’ll have aged and matured, but she wants to know whether or not they’ll still remember her despite her not being really worth remembering, or having made such an impression on them that they’d likely not forget her. Then again, both Vander and Cristoff took quite the shine to her the first time Bickslow took her with him to visit his family, as did the newly welcomed Emzadi. Xally didn’t want to get too close to the Dark Dragon Slayer, and Jaelyn couldn’t blame the small child for that; and Zen wasn’t around the first time she was there, but the second time he was - and he almost attacked her that time due to the read he got on her Magic.

It doesn’t take long for Jellal to fall asleep once they’ve eaten dinner, and both Ultear and Meredy soon retire to their own room, leaving Jaelyn sitting on the windowsill by the open window, the cool breeze sending a pleasant chill throughout her already cool body. Her body is pleading for sleep, but her mind is restless; on edge being so far away from Bickslow, Laxus, Gray and Lavinia. She can feel them through their Bonds, and, while knowing they’re safe allows her to relax slightly, she’s not sure whether she can relax enough to sleep without any of them by her side. She hadn’t been sleeping alone for the past few weeks before Tenrou Island, and that repetitive act means she’s grown used to having someone in the bed beside her to chase away the worst of her nightmares.

Terror washes over her and the Dark Dragon Slayer looks over to where her brother is fast asleep on his twin-sized bed, eyebrows furrowed and a pained expression on his face. He’s having a nightmare about the Tower of Heaven - something he won’t willingly admit to anyone, but unable to hide it from the one he shares a mind with while he’s asleep and his barriers are down. A sympathetic smile works its way onto Jaelyn’s face and she closes the window before moving over to her twin’s bed and laying down beside him, reaching out and taking hold of his hand to give him some sort of comfort. At her touch, he visibly relaxes, all tension leaving his body and his expression smoothing into one untouched by the horrors of their past. Her smile turns soft and she shuffles closer to him, head resting on her folded arm and her heavy eyelids sliding shut as she allows sleep to suck her into its darkness.

Jaelyn’s sleep isn't plagued by nightmares or night terrors, and her memories decide to not torment her through the night and force her back into reality. Instead, she’s cocooned by a familiar warmth and scent, surrounded by her few and far between friends, her leg bouncing up and down rhythmically, a weight atop it, and there’s the heartwarming sound of a child’s laughter. One of her arms is around the middle of a blue-haired child, and the other is resting atop Laxus’ thick arm around her waist.

The child on her lap turns and looks up at Jaelyn, and she notices the beautiful grey eyes shining up at her, filled with warmth and joy. The little girl has unruly cobalt hair tinged with green-coloured streaks, pulled back into the best braid Jaelyn could manage with the unwillingness of their hair to cooperate with their parent’s wishes. There’s a tattoo above her right eye, similar to that of Jellal’s, and, peeking out from underneath the collar of her shirt, there’s a scar reminiscent of Laxus’. Light flickers around her chubby fingers and she laughs, telling Jaelyn all she needs to know.

This child is hers; hers and Laxus’, and they’ve chosen to become a Dragon Slayer - having been implanted with a Dragon Lacrima infused with what appears to be something similar to Sting’s _White Dragon Slayer_ Magic.

It brings tears to her eyes and she grins down at her child, making a funny face and driving the child into hysterics. More children join in with the laughter, and Jaelyn looks up to find two children around the same age as hers in front of Bickslow and Lavinia - the little girl having his black and blue hair and Lavinia’s cool grey eyes, and the little boy having Lavinia’s golden hair and his deep red eyes. Both children bear the same Seith Mage mark as their father, but he couldn’t be happier about them wanting to have the same Magic as him, Lavinia not even put-off in the slightest by none of them wanting her Moon Dragon Slayer Magic.

The door opens, bringing Jellal, Erza and their young child into the mix. Their little purple-haired, hazel-eyed boy yells in delight and runs over to Bickslow and Lavinia’s little girl, hugging her tightly and sloppily kissing her cheek, making their respective parents either coo or smile softly at their childs’ antics. Placing her squirming child down with the others, Jaelyn watches as her daughter makes her way over to Bickslow’s son and tackles the smaller boy, tickling the blond-haired boy and making peals of delighted laughter leave both young children. Jellal and Erza find themselves seats on the other side of Jaelyn and Laxus, between the two Slayers and Bickslow and Lavinia, and the adults find themselves talking about old times; wishing they could go back sometimes, but not wanting to have this current time disappear.

Dawn comes faster than Jaelyn wants it to. The moment the sun starts to show above the mountains, she’s wide awake, no matter how much she wants to go back to sleep and dream of the family she’ll never be able to have. Looking over at Jellal, she finds his eyes slowly opening and a silent yawn leaving his mouth as he stretches out his sleepy muscles. His eyes meet hers and, while they are still sleepy, she can see the hope and desire alight in them. He wants that future just as much as she does, and they’re both willing to do whatever it takes to get it, no matter how little possibility there is of it coming to pass.

Jellal reaches out and brushes his fingers across Jaelyn’s cheeks, pulling them away once he’s dried her tears. “Everything will work out in the end, Jae.”

Jaelyn smiles through her tears at Jellal, squeezing the hand she’s still holding despite the hours they spent sleeping.

**• • • • • •**

**All the Pradesh family members belong to [Desna](https://archiveofourown.org/users/Desna1). I make no claim to them or anyone else in this story who is not an OC of mine.**


	49. 46 • The Pradesh Family

Having gotten fed up with all the walking, Jaelyn ends up buying the lot of them train tickets for the remainder of their journey to Bosco. Dealing with motion sickness is better than dealing with the agony in her legs after seven years of not using them - or, at least, that’s the excuse she gives Ultear and Meredy. Jellal knows that she’s getting too antsy being out in the open, constantly on edge and looking over her shoulder despite there not being anyone around for miles.

Thanks to her paranoia driving her to buying them the tickets, they arrive in Bosco ahead of schedule, allowing them more time to reach the Pradesh family. Well, in actuality, it allows for a certain member of the Pradesh family to be more than delighted to see the Dark Dragon Slayer again earlier than he thought. Jaelyn reaches out to the second youngest brother within minutes of getting off the train at the station closest to their destination, and it’s only a matter of minutes later that the Shadowquip Mage is standing before them, grinning like a madman.

“Vander.” Jaelyn is quickly enveloped in the taller man’s arms, and she puts up no fight.

The Mage smiles sincerely as he pulls back and looks down at her. “It’s good to see you’re alive and well, Jaelyn. We heard about what happened, but weren’t sure whether you were all alright.”

“Bix hasn’t talked to you yet?”

“He might have…”

“You cheeky asshole!” She shoves him backwards and whacks the taller man’s shoulder, all the while grinning and shaking her head. “You’ve grown so fucking much since I last saw you. What are you? 7 feet tall now?”

Vander rolls his eyes and grins. “You’re a foot off there, sister dear.”

“You mocking me now, Pradesh?”

“‘Course not. You’re our sister, and nothing’s changing that.” His red-wine eyes move to the Mages standing behind Jaelyn and he turns uncharacteristically serious. “I wasn’t aware you were with Crime Sorcière. What happened to Fairy Tail?”

She sobers at the sudden seriousness. “It’s a temporary thing. If Bickslow has told you everything, like he usually does, then you know why I’m with my brother.”

“Yeah, I know, and we’re so sorry.” There’s a tense moment before he continues. “Anyway, dad’s waiting for you. Let’s get going.”

Before Jaelyn can warn Jellal, Ultear and Meredy about Shadow Travel, they’re all dragged along for the ride, leaving the three startled Mages with queasy stomachs when they’re at the Pradesh residence. Vander smiles slightly, a small sign of his usual self, but it’s gone almost as soon as it appears once Arman himself walks over to the group of Mages. The Pradesh patriarch greets the Mages of Crime Sorcière with little hesitance, and pulls Jaelyn in for an almost bone-crushing hug, a three words being whispered into her ear that make her blood boil and her stomach churn: _“they’ve taken Zen.”_

The second youngest of the Pradesh family is the first Archangel Mage born in almost 1000 years, and has been sought after by those who know of his existence - or those who have even the faintest disgusting hope that such a being exists. The fact that someone has managed to take the Mage - even dare to lay a hand on him for that matter - makes her fill with uncontrollable rage and an unquenchable urge to rip those who took him to shreds, leaving behind the almost liquefied remains for their families to find. Zen has already had one hell of a life, having grown up a slave and Gladiator in Pergrand before Arman found and rescued him, and now he’s been, somehow, taken from right under his family’s noses.

Unable to hear the vague details of how Arman believes the younger Mage had been taken, Jaelyn leaves it to the other members of Crime Sorcière, making it a fair distance from the Pradesh home, in the middle of nowhere, before her legs give out and she’s kneeling in the dirt. Her Dark Dragon Slayer Magic flickers along her skin in a tormenting pattern, curling and diving around her limbs, until she slams her fists against the hard ground and an enraged scream is torn from her lungs. The Magic flies out of her body, circling her broken body and enveloping everything within it in pure darkness; killing any scraggly plants that had managed to cling to life in this mountainous country, and any small creatures within the limits of her Magic either above the ground, on the ground, or deep below the ground.

“I suppose that’s one way to announce your arrival,” a smooth voice teases once her Magic dissipates, leaving her surrounded by scorched and dead earth. “Although, I could smell you the moment you set foot in Bosco, dear sister.”

Trembling from the explosion of Magic and residual anger, her eyes are dull as she looks over at the one person who dares get this close to her in this state. “Cristoff, I didn’t know you were here. It’s good to see you, but I wish it were under better circumstances.”

“As do I. Come on, you’re making your brother worry.”

“I know. I can see and feel it, but he’ll be fine. He knows that I had to let it all out before we actually start this shit, or quite a few innocent people would have quite gruesome deaths just for being in the wrong place at the wrong time.”

“I remember your explosiveness well enough, and I doubt you were actually angry when that happened.”

“Which time? The guest house or… or Bickslow and Vander?”

“Don’t blame yourself for what Bix and Van did, or the way you reacted.” Cristoff reaches out for Jaelyn and she allows him to help her up. “Farron and Kaleb are home, and I have no doubt they want to see you, and we all have something to show you.”

Jaelyn follows after the Lunar Dragon Slayer. “If it’s what I think it is, don’t blame me if I break the fuck down.”

In the end, it does end up being what Jaelyn originally believes it to be: a small gravestone for the child she lost, standing beside that of the Pradesh’s mother. To her surprise, there’s a name carved into the stone, and she feels a pain in her chest just thinking about the life they could have had if there’d never been that whole mess with Zeref and Acnologia. _Leif Pradesh-Fernandes_. Bickslow knew their childs’ gender all along and he never told her, but it’s not like she asked him. In all honesty, Jaelyn knows that, if she knew the gender before everything happened and they began to talk about baby names, then losing them - _him_ \- would have been that much more difficult. Something tells her the Seith Mage knew that as well, and that’s why he kept it from her - as well as choosing such a beautiful name that he knew she’d love.

She stands there even as rain begins to pour, the sky cracking open in one loud _boom_, drenching and chilling her to the bone once the strong wind picks up. The dual sensations send Meredy and Xally scurrying for shelter, Emzadi and Ultear slower to follow the pair, and Farron, Kaleb and Arman leaving not too long after the girls. Vander stands to Jaelyn’s right, slightly behind her, black and red hair plastered to his skull, wine-red eyes appearing unusually haunted, and Cristoff stands beside his younger brother, long black hair in knotted strands wrapping around his neck, dark blue eyes unreadable and uncharacteristically solemn. Jellal, on the other hand, is beside Jaelyn, cobalt hair a soaked mess atop his head and his dark green eyes pained as he stares down at his unborn nephew’s grave, wanting to give his little sister some sort of comfort, but not wanting to push her at this time.

“Fuck you, Bickslow…” Jaelyn stares down at the gravestone, pure agony in her chest and unshed tears burning her eyes. “I hate you so much right now…”

“Jaelyn,” Jellal softly berates, placing his hand on her shoulder. “Don’t blame him for this. You know it’s not his fault.”

“Don’t touch me!” She shoves her twin away, growling warningly, making Cristoff tense. “You’ve had seven more years of life than I have, and you’ve never lost a fucking child! You only know what it feels like because _we’re fucking linked _\- and even then you don’t know the fucking half of it!So don’t go telling me who I can and cannot fucking blame for this! _You have no fucking clue, you bastard!_” Her eyes become eclipsed in black and she swipes at Jellal when he attempts to calm her. “_Don’t fucking touch me!_ You don’t get to fucking do anything about this! You don’t get to comfort me after everything you’ve done! _You abandoned me! You left me to the mercy of those fucking monsters! You let them torture and defile me without lifting a fucking finger to help me!_”

Her next swipe would have connected with her brother’s face worse than her last few strikes and left behind one hell of a nasty scar if two pairs of hands hadn’t of clamped around her arms and forced her backwards, out of range. She thrashes in their hold, purely animalistic sounds leaving her as onyx scales spread further across her body, her nails lengthening and becoming deadly as she watches her brother back away, an unreadable look on his face. Her trained eyes follow him until he vanishes into the Pradesh home, and then all fight leaves her body, becoming boneless in the holds of two Pradesh brothers as she cries with abandon.

“It’s alright,” Cristoff tells her, his voice thick with concern. “Let it all out, and then we can talk about whatever you want.”

“I…”

Vander shushes her. “Come on. Let’s get out of this bloody rain so you don’t go getting sick on us.”

Jaelyn allows two of the Pradesh brothers to lead her into the rebuilt guest house, away from everyone else, lest she snaps again and severely hurts someone this time. She’s soon in dry clothes - that feel like one of Laxus’ large ass shirts and a pair of her black pyjama pants - and wrapped in a fluffy blanket, Vander sitting on one side of her and Cristoff on the other. The Lunar Dragon Slayer’s light presence is calming, allowing her to breathe without being sucked into another of her attacks, and the Shadowquip Mage’s dark presence surrounds her with comfort, allowing her to relax further.

Without the physically older males asking, she tells them everything.

**• • • • • •**

**Hey, superwolves.**

**I’ve played around with the different ages of the Pradesh family (© [Desna](https://archiveofourown.org/users/Desna1)) so they fit in better with the story - considering this is after the whole Tenrou Island arc - and so they’re not some ridiculous age that makes this story kinda weirder than it already is. Here are the ages I’ve given them based on what I’ve read about them:**

**\- Arman: 51**

**\- Farron: 31**

**\- Kaleb: 29**

**\- Cristoff: 27**

**\- Vander: 25**

**\- Emzadi: 25**

**\- Zen: 24**

**\- Xally: 23**

**I hope that clears up any confusion, and I do apologise if there is an actual story by Desna that tells their ages after Tenrou Island - I haven’t gotten around to reading many of their stories due to my procrastination habits and work schedule.**

**I’ve somehow made Kaleb and Bickslow the same age - because, despite the whole “frozen for seven years” thing, Bickslow is technically 29 years old in X791 - but let’s just go with that until I know how old they’re meant to be…**

**\- Chey xo -**


	50. 47 • Saving the Archangel

Jaelyn wakes at dawn, almost squashed between two solid walls of muscle and warmth on the fold-out lounge, their scents wrapping around her and drawing her into an unusual state of calm. They’re brothers to her, so she guesses such a feeling must come from being held and protected from the world by siblings. There’s something so holistic and comforting about it, and she can’t bring herself to hate being so close to another person right now.

She wishes she could sleep for longer, but, after all those years being woken at the crack of dawn to work on the R-System, her body instinctively refuses to let such a thing happen, fearing the wrath that would be brought down upon them if they did not wake. Peering down at the Lunar Dragon Slayer half beneath her, she smiles softly at his peaceful expression, but she can’t help the small laugh that leaves her when she looks over at where Vander is asleep beside her. The six-foot-tall man is practically curled around her, his face resting between her shoulder blades and one of his arms around her middle, the other underneath his head, supporting it. He’s basically a giant child, and she wouldn’t change it for the world.

“Why are you awake so damn early?” Cristoff complains sleepily when she shifts on top of him. “It’s barely daylight, Jae. Go back to sleep.”

Jaelyn hums in apology and rests her head back against his chest, the only comfortable place given her current predicament. “After all those years at the Tower, I can’t sleep past dawn. I wish I could. It’s so warm.”

“I thought you were having another nightmare,” Vander yawns beside her, his arm tightening around her as his body tenses when he stretches slightly. “’s good you’re not.”

She winces. “I didn’t bother you with those, did I?”

“Nah, you’re good.”

The three of them end up laying there for a while longer, until Jellal comes knocking anyway. Jaelyn recoils when she sees the bandage wrapped around his throat, dark, dried blood staining the white material. She doesn’t spare the older male a look before heading to the bedroom in the guest house, leaving half asleep Vander and Cristoff to deal with her twin while she gets dressed. She opts for dark jeans and her three-quarter sleeve length black shirt, her feet being shoved into her usual combat boots before walking back out to the males.

It’s tense between Jaelyn and Jellal as they, Meredy and Ultear head out in search of Zen, Vander accompanying them with the Dark Dragon Slayer’s permission. Kaleb and Cristoff wanted to come with the four Crime Sorcière Mages, but five were deemed to be enough when Vander refused to back down and they eventually resigned to letting the Shadowquip Mage go with them. Not to mention, Kaleb may well be dragged into a similar mess to Zen given his dormant Archangel Magic if he were to go with them, and Cristoff wouldn’t be too useful if they have to go to Pergrand in order to save Zen, which left Vander as the best choice in the given circumstances.

Emzadi would have come with them instead, but she had taken off to Draculi Island before the sun had risen, Dragon Mating Season creeping up on the Slayers with only a few days at most to spare before they were all thrown into its mess. To make it worse, there’s going to be a full moon within the next few days, coinciding with their Mating Season, and that means Cristoff is going to be more of a handful than usual during that time. The oncoming Season is making Jaelyn antsy, not knowing what to expect after not having gone through a Mating Season without Laxus or Gray before - and not having had a Mating Season for the past seven years.

Jaelyn growls and stops in front of the Gate that will take them to Pergrand, not one bit happy this is the most likely place for Zen to be. They’ve been searching on foot and with Magic for the Archangel Mage for almost half the day, but with no luck; leaving the hellhole before them to be the only place where the young male to be. Walking through the Gate, her stomach churns sickeningly and she latches onto the closest person to her, which ends up being Vander, to ground herself. The Shadowquip Mage comfortingly squeezes her hand in response, giving himself something to ground himself while the Dark Dragon Slayer grounds also herself. Behind them, Meredy is practically clinging to Ultear, and the Arc of Time Mage is rather on edge herself, dark eyes flickering around for any sign of danger. Only Jellal appears composed, but Jaelyn can feel his unease and paranoia alongside her own.

The very air is suffocating and compressing, and the Mages feel it dragging forth their darkest desires and malevolent wishes, their skin tightening and tingling as it presses down on them. They twitch and their muscles spasm beneath their flesh, putting them further on edge than before. Dark onyx scales sweep along Jaelyn’s exposed flesh, encasing the majority of her body, as her nails morph into dark claws, her eyes becoming eclipsed in pitch black. Every cell in her body is itching to protect the Mages behind her; warning her that there’s a deathly danger up ahead that they may well not walk away from. Jaelyn almost tells them all to go back; to let her do this on her own so none of them get hurt, but Vander’s hand squeezing hers makes that thought flee her mind.

Sweat and blood and smoke and burning are all that they can smell, and it makes a snarl leave Jaelyn. However, those smells are soon eclipsed by the scent she’s been trying to find all day, and her head snaps up, dark eyes trained on the Gladiator stadium in the distance. One look at Vander and they’re all Shadow Travelling, heading straight for the stadium where the Slayer knows the Archangel Mage to be. It only takes a few seconds for the others to get their bearings, but, by then, both Jaelyn and Vander are breaking into the horrid place and sneaking inside, leaving the other Mages to catch up with the Dark Magic using Mages.

The darkness allows for Jaelyn to travel at a fast pace, scouring the whole building in a matter of seconds and finding Zen on the other side of the building. Against Jellal’s pleads, she materialises out of the darkness and slaughters the guards outside the door, leaving them in pieces. Using _Dark Mass_, she obliterates the door in her way and stalks into the bloodstained room it hides, deep and threatening growls rumbling in her chest. Guards charge at her, but she’s faster, and, within a matter of seconds, they're dead on the ground, heads and limbs missing from their bodies, and some even having their innards ripped out. She’s not sparing anyone who dares to keep her from her little brother, blood or not, and that doesn’t bother her one bit.

Making her way further into the room, she ignores the stinging and burning of the few wounds she’s gained from being slightly out of practice at killing groups of beings. Following her nose, she quickly finds Zen in one of the furthest cells, covered in healing wounds and his wings nowhere in sight. The long-haired male’s purple eyes dart up at her sudden appearance, full of apprehension and surprise, but he makes no attempt to move, and Jaelyn’s eyes further darken in consuming rage when she sees the large gash on one of his legs. Snarling, she blasts the door off the cell and hurries over to him, dragging her bag from her shoulder and pulling out everything she needs to patch up the Archangel Mage.

“Jaelyn?” Zen is beyond shocked.

Jaelyn looks up at the male briefly. “Yeah, it’s me. Been a while, hasn’t it, Zen?”

“You can say that.”

“Sorry I didn’t come sooner. I was kinda trapped on an island for seven years.”

He laughs, wincing as she cleans and bandages his leg. “Yeah, that’s understandable. Anyone else with you?”

She nods and packs everything back into her bag when she’s done. “Vander is on his way, along with my brother and his friends. I left them behind to come get you.”

“And got yourself hurt on the way.”

“I’m fine. They’re here. Let’s go.”

She helps the six-foot-four man stand and bears some of his weight as she leads him out of the cell and into the room full of dissected people. Zen looks down at them with dark eyes, but Jaelyn simply walks past them without a single glance or regret. The pair meet up with Vander, Jellal and the girls outside the room, and the former is quick to take his little brother from Jaelyn, sharing a brief hug before helping the taller male walk. Jellal gives his sister a small smile before turning and limping after the others, leaving Jaelyn covered in blood and trembling with an unquenchable desire to rip everyone to shreds.

On their way out, they’re cornered by guards, and Jaelyn can’t help but grin maliciously, rolling her shoulders as she feels her transformation cross into Demonic territory. Her wings sprout from between her shoulder blades, stretching out protectively behind her, hiding her friends and family from the dark eyes of the creatures in front of her. She hears shocked exclamations come from both those behind her and those before her, but she ignores them, Darkness dancing along her scaled skin and slithering along the ground, reaching for the ones standing in front of her.

In the blink of an eye, Jaelyn flings herself forward and wraps her thighs around one guard’s head, swinging her weight around and snapping his neck as her clawed hands latch onto the other to her left, claws digging into his throat and ripping it free as she drops to the stone ground and rolls into a crouch, her leg swinging out and knocking two more to the ground. Planting her hands, she flips her body up and flings her long legs around, landing solid kicks to a handful more guards, her jagged wings disemboweling a few others, splattering their blood onto the already bloodstained stone.

With her feet back on the ground, she pauses for a moment before pushing off and launching herself at another guard, sending him flying backwards with a burst of _Air Magic_, bashing his head hard enough against the wall that his skull splinters. Quickly pivoting to change direction, she buries her clawed hands into ones chest and tears his heart free, watching briefly as they crumple to the ground, a glazed look in their eyes. Four Magic Circles appear above a handful of Mages and Jaelyn cracks her neck, releasing the built up Power of her small-scale _Abyss Break_, leaving nothing but piles of unidentifiable pieces where the guards once stood when the dark blast dissipates.

Turning her feral eyes to the few guards brave enough to remain, they attempt to run, but her _Dark Dragon Roar_ is faster, catching up to them in an instant and melting them to the bone. Thinking she’s done, Jaelyn straightens and goes to relax, but a sudden Magical attack has her erecting _Hexagon Barrier_ around herself and her family, a downright murderous look in her unsympathetic and unmerciful eyes. Raising one clawed hand in the direction of the attack, two words leave her lips: “_Dark Rondo_”. The Darkness Magic moves lightning fast, leaving the Magic Circle in front of her palm and converging on where she can smell the attackers, explosions and screaming following the direct hit. A series of small explosions follow the original attack, but there’s, sadly, no more screams for the Dark Dragon Slayer to hear.

“Jaelyn,” a familiar voice calls, making her look over her shoulder towards her family with unfamiliar and bone-chilling eyes. Jellal is the one talking, and he slowly moves towards her, limping and pressing his hand to his side, attempting to staunch blood. “They’re all gone. We’re safe, alright? You kept us safe; you protected us.”

The words bring Jaelyn back to reality, and her body returns to its previous state, her hand coming up to cover the wound on her side, exhaustion and pain thudding in her body. “I did it? You’re all safe?”

“Yes. We need to go before more people try to stop us.”

“Yeah, that’s a good idea.”

Reaching out, she encases the wound on Jellal’s side in Darkness Magic, stopping anymore blood from leaving his body. She does the same to the rest of his wounds and then moves on to the small wounds of the others before even thinking about her own. Once she’s certain no more blood of theirs is going to be spilt, Jaelyn turns and makes her way back to the Gate, the other Mages following right behind her, Meredy and Ultear supporting Jellal between them, lest he collapse from the amount of blood he’s lost. They do attempt to also help his sister, but she shrugs them off and tells them to help him instead; not to worry about her wellbeing when Jellal is much more important.


	51. 48 • First after Seven Years

It’s nearing midnight when they return to the Pradesh home, and they’re all met by Cristoff and Xally. Zen is the healing priority, given the assortment of wounds he has from being in Pergrand for however long, followed by the smaller wounds that Vander, Ultear and Meredy gained because both Jellal and Jaelyn refused until everyone else was healed. When it comes down to the twins, Jaelyn uses _Bind Snake_ to keep her older twin still so he can be healed, not caring about her own wounds. Both Xally and Cristoff share an amused look at their antics and take one Fernandes each: Xally with Jellal, and Cristoff taking Jaelyn a fair distance away from the others so they have a chance to talk.

With Zen safe and sound in the main Pradesh house with his family, Jaelyn allows herself to force the rage and desire for slaughter bubbling beneath her skin down, the aftershocks of the close battle still wracking her body. She sighs and removes her black shirt, hissing at the way it clings to her injuries and scarred skin because of her drying blood, not missing the pained look in the Lunar Dragon Slayer’s dark blue eyes as they take in the extent of her battle wounds. His hands hover over her skin as he uses his Magic to heal the bleeding lacerations until they’re nothing but scars on her battlefield body, leaving her with the task of using her Water Magic to wash the remaining blood off.

“What did you do to yourself, Jaelyn?” Cristoff berates, staring down at her with those soulful dark blue eyes. “You shouldn’t throw yourself into fights like your life is worth nothing.”

Jaelyn laughs, tugging her bloodied shirt back on. “I don’t care about myself, Cris. My brother and family are a different story - and that includes you and your family too.”

“Dammit, Jaelyn…”

“Don’t worry about me. I’ll be fine, like always. Go see Zen; he needs you more than I do right now. He’s your little brother, and I’m your brother’s ex-baby mumma.”

She doesn’t let him respond, instead patting his arm and making her way to the guest house, away from everyone else. Once she’s inside, Jaelyn realises she doesn’t want to be in this building, but inside the main house with the Pradesh family and Jellal, Ultear and Meredy. Before she does that, she has a shower and properly cleans all the blood from her pale skin, watching the water run red down the drain. It’s almost hypnotising, but she pulls her exhausted self away from it, turning off the taps and wrapping a towel around herself as she climbs out of the shower.

Pulling on clean underclothes and the clothes Vander and Cristoff changed her into last night, she shoves the rest of her clothes and such into her bag and heads into the main house. Making her way up the dark stairs, she hears Zen laughing alongside his father, brothers and sisters, and even the three other Mages of Crime Sorcière. Brushing her fingers over the Guild Mark on the back of her neck, she smiles softly and makes her way into Bickslow’s room, closing the door behind her and allowing his familiar, comforting scent to calm her raging nerves.

Throwing her bag onto the floor and hanging her damp towel over the back of a chair, she opens the window and leans on the sill, staring out into the late night and wishing that she were back in Magnolia with Laxus before the full moon. Feeling Jellal softly sifting through her thoughts, she quickly places the usual barrier to keep him out, making her wonder just how many times he’s done that without her knowing since she came with them to Bosco - or whether this has been the only time, brought on by her reverting to her malicious Dark Guild state earlier in the day.

Jaelyn sighs and finds a comfortable spot in Bickslow’s bed, closing her eyes and drifting off into a tumultuous sleep. Constantly waking throughout the night, plagued by memories she wants gone more than anything, she eventually gives up on sleep, just laying there in the darkness, staring up at the plain ceiling, almost delirious with lack of sleep, imagining the familiar, hulking body sleeping beside her, warm skin pressing against hers. Jolting upright, she shakes her head and flees the bedroom, heading for the kitchen to get herself some water - or maybe something stronger. Upon entering, she finds that she’s not the only one able to sleep, Cristoff sitting at the table despite the late hour.

The younger girl hesitantly walks over to the other Slayer, resting a hand on his shoulder. “Cris? What are you doing up so late?”

He looks up at her with dark eyes, the silver flecks more prominent than usual. “The full moon is too close for me to be able to sleep properly. What’s your excuse?”

“Memories, and I’m pretty sure I’m becoming delusional from lack of sleep - which, in itself, is keeping me from sleeping.” She sits down at the table with him. “It’s too close to Mating Season, and I’ve never been this far away from either Laxus or Gray when it’s come around. Hell, I haven’t had a Season for seven years, so I don’t know if that’ll affect anything.”

“Can’t help you with that, and there’s no way you can get back to Magnolia before it starts.” His brow furrows as a thought occurs to him. “Fuck, we’re the only Slayers here, which means we’re going to be drawn to each other - and the full moon is going to make it worse.”

“Just be glad it’s not a new moon, or it’d probably be much worse.” Jaelyn laughs as she thinks about Bickslow and Lavinia. “Mavis, with Lavinia being a Second Generation Moon Dragon Slayer, Bix is going to have his hands full dealing with her. I hope Laxus doesn’t go out and fuck some random ass bitch.”

“He’s your Mate, isn't he?” Cristoff’s smile fades slightly and his gaze becomes more focused. “Fuck, this is going to be one hell of a shit show, Jae. That living Dragon Soul inside you-”

“I don’t have one. Unlike every other First Generation Slayer, and the Second Generation Slayers, I don’t have a living Dragon Soul inside me. That’s what makes me different; I actually killed the Dragon that raised me because she didn’t want to come to this time - not that I can blame her.”

“Oh, well, what I have to say still applies in some sense.”

“No need.” She stands and goes to leave the kitchen, only for him to gently take hold of her wrist and stop her in her tracks. “I get it. He’s my Mate, and that means you’ll be seen as a rival. Just like you said, it will be one hell of a fucking shit show. If the Season or the moon, or both, force us together, make sure there’s no fucking chance of me getting pregnant. I’m not going through losing yet another child, especially another that belongs to someone I love.” Looking down into his illuminated eyes, she finds them startled. “Maybe, if Laxus hadn’t of come back, then just maybe, Cris.”

Jaelyn spends the rest of the night attempting to sleep, in a heavy haze that refuses to let her be. Thankfully, they didn’t plan on leaving until the end of the week, so Jaelyn finds herself staying in Bickslow’s room, cut off from everyone else in the Pradesh house despite their best attempts. The only one who’s managed to have any sort of contact with her is Vander when he popped up in the bedroom and near made her scream - and that ended with him being shot at with her Dark Dragon Slayer Magic, making him flee in a matter of minutes. Other than that, no one has been brave enough to open the door and see what’s wrong with the young girl - not even Jellal has been able to find out with Jaelyn having blocked him from her mind.

Nightfall changes things - clearly unexpected by the other members of Crime Sorcière, but not by the members of the Pradesh family who know, all too well, what is happening.

With the full moon high in the sky and Dragon Mating Season already in full swing, Jaelyn’s better judgement is clouded as she finally opens the door and wanders down to the in-ground pool, towel slung over her shoulder and swimmers underneath the oversized shirt of Laxus’ that she’s wearing. Placing both pieces of fabric on the ground beside the pool, she walks down the steps until her body’s surrounded by the cool substance that’s taking her mind off the burning sensation racing along her skin, hazy memories popping up her mind that she’s quick to dismiss in her current state.

She’s not there long before sensing someone behind her and hearing them walk into the pool like she did, begging for her to look back at the one who’s decided to join her. She acquiesces that desire, turning her head slightly until she catches sight of Cristoff making his way over to her, water trailing down from his head to his chest and then back into the pool from where he briefly submerged himself. Jaelyn reaches for him, her hand taken by his only a second later and giving her the leverage she needs to pull the Lunar Dragon Slayer towards her, her body taking control despite the still sane part of her brain pleading for her not to give in to the pull the other Slayer is giving off; telling her to wait for… someone.

Easily ignoring that small part of herself in her current state, Jaelyn allows herself to be swept into a burning kiss, Cristoff’s strong hands finding the backs of her thighs and picking her up, calling for her to wrap her legs around him. She’s gently pushed against the wall of the pool, water lapping around her chest as her hips roll against his with a burning desire, stirring the chlorinated water up and making him let out a rumbling growl. His hands leave what feels to be fire in their wake before they find purchase on her lower back and behind, her hands weaving into his black hair and tugging, earning herself another growl.

Some dark part of her wishes that she were fully in control of her actions so she could enjoy this moment - and so she could remember everything. It feels as though it happens too fast for her mind to keep up: burning hands; silver eyes; a hard, muscled body pressing against her slightly curved, lean one; the way the moonlight seems to encompass them; how they knew exactly where to leave marks that didn’t break the skin; the difficulty of not leaving a mark to break the skin and claim the other as their Mate; their Slayer Magics battling along their contrasting skin as their bodies move as one.

The full moon only lasts for three days; the Mating Season for a week.

After the three days, Jaelyn knows she has to leave Bosco lest she and Cristoff lay claim to each other and she succumbs to her Draconic desires to have the child of such a Powerful Dragon Slayer growing within her.

**• • • • • •**

**Don’t go judging Jaelyn’s actions, or how I’ve decided to have her story play out.**


	52. 49 • Returning to Magnolia

The morning after the three nights of the full moon is surprisingly uncomplicated despite the previous few night’s activities due to both the full moon and the whole Dragon Mating Season thing. 

Jaelyn wakes in the bed of the guest house not long after dawn, Cristoff still fast asleep beside her, dark hair a mess and an unearthly glow about his tanned skin. Sitting up, she stretches her tired muscles and climbs off the bed, pulling on her swimmers from the other day, and Laxus’ shirt that’s somehow found its way into the guest house, a jolt of pain stabbing her heart at the thought of the Lightning Dragon Slayer back in Magnolia. The Lunar Dragon Slayer makes a strange noise and she looks over just in time to see dark blue eyes staring up at her with confusion.

“Jaelyn?” Realisation hits him and he jolts upright. “Shit. The full moon.”

She laughs at the tall male. “Yeah, the full moon. Don’t worry, I wasn’t that far gone in the Season that I forgot about making sure there was no chance of children.”

“We didn’t Claim each other, did we?”

“No. We’d know if that fucking happened.” Rolling her neck and cracking her joints, Jaelyn sighs. “I’m going to have a shower and get dressed in something more useful for travel.”

Cristoff pulls on his pants and raises an eyebrow at her. “Fucking me and leaving, are you?”

“Mavis, it seems like that, doesn’t it? But, no. I have to get back to Magnolia before the Season’s over, or I will end up having your child.”

“That doesn’t sound too bad.”

She rolls her eyes and heads back into the main house, hearing his laughter following her as she makes her way into the bathroom with her bag. Her shower is quick and efficient, and it’s then she notices all the dark marks on her body, not to mention to bruises from when she and the others got Zen out of Pergrand. Drying off, she pulls on a set of clothes that remind her of Jellal when she saw him at the Tower of Heaven after years apart; dark jeans, a light grey high-collared tank-top, and her combat boots. Looking in the mirror, she has to do a double take, her initial thought being that she’s staring at a younger version of her 26-year-old twin given her shorter hair. 

Shoving her dirty clothes back into her bag, she opens the bathroom door and runs straight into her twin, his dark eyes wide in shock. “Fuck, Jellal, I didn’t hear you out here.”

He clears his throat and shakes his head. “I wasn’t aware you were in there, or back in the land of the living with us.”

“You can give me hell for something I can’t control later. We need to leave as soon as possible so we can get back to Magnolia before the Mating Season ends; we can’t wait it out here, or we’ll have to lock both myself and Cristoff up for the next four days and five nights.”

“Yeah, we have something to discuss with whoever is going to be taking part in the Games this year.”

Arman knocks on the wall, startling the twins from their conversation. “You can leave after breakfast, and make sure to come back and visit whenever, daughter.”

Jaelyn smiles softly at her other father figure. “How about you actually adopt myself and Jellal so we have a home to come to, Arman? You were talking about it the last time I was here with Bix.”

Jellal gives her a bewildered look. “Despite that being quite an interesting idea, little sister, it’s also the strangest thing to say considering you and Cristoff spent the past three days _fucking each other_.”

“Okay, yeah. Let’s talk about this another time - preferably when Laxus and I come to visit with Bix and Lavinia next. Mavis knows you’ll have a grandchild from them soon, Arman.”

The Pradesh patriarch simply laughs and tells them that he’ll think about it some other time before heading back downstairs, the smell of breakfast calling the cobalt-haired twins to follow a few steps behind the man. The kitchen is bustling, which is strange given the hour, and Jaelyn finds herself swept into a hug from Vander, who wraps his arms around her from behind and rests his chin atop her head, earning an irritated sound from his prey and laughter from Zen and their sisters. Cristoff rolls his eyes and grins, continuing to help Emzadi and Xally cook as Farron sleepily makes his way into the room, Kaleb following not too far behind his older brother. The smell and chatter must eventually call Ultear and Meredy into the already crowded kitchen, the latter’s long pink hair pulled back into a braid, and the former’s dark hair a mess atop her head.

It’s lively, Jaelyn has to admit; lively and almost as loud as the Fairy Tail Guild Hall. Still, she can’t help but enjoy being around such welcoming and loyal people. Laughter spills freely from herself and Jellal, and they find themselves relaxed and without walls for the first time in their lives; not needing to be on edge or looking over their shoulders around this family. Their eyes meet across the table and they share the same thought - the same wish, really: to one day have this with a family of their own design, children running underfoot and laughing with abandon; without having to fear for and fight for their lives like their parents were forced to.

She finds it hard to say goodbye when it’s time for them to leave, and she sees that the Pradesh family is having a similar predicament. However, they’ve soon said all their farewells - as well as promising to return to visit when they’re able - and are on the train heading back to Magnolia, Jaelyn’s head resting against the glass of the window as her stomach churns and threatens to empty itself. Jellal rubs his hand between her shoulder blades, easing the sickening sensation enough so she can have a decent conversation, but not enough that she’s able to sit upright and act as though nothing is wrong.

It’s close to nightfall when the train finally drops the Independent Guild back to Magnolia, and they’re greeted by Bickslow and Lavinia at the station. Jaelyn’s surprised that Laxus is nowhere to be seen, but she has a feeling that he’s waiting at her house - or somewhere just out of her sensory range waiting for the right moment to pop out of nowhere. There are wide smiles and warm hugs all around, and there’s only one disbelieving look given - from Lavinia to Jaelyn when the Moon Dragon Slayer smells the Lunar Dragon Slayer all over the Dark Dragon Slayer, which earns the blonde girl a pained and anguished look. Bickslow gives Jaelyn a wide grin, dark red eyes hidden behind his visor, but filled with delight nonetheless.

Waving goodbye to Jellal, Ultear and Meredy, as well as Bickslow and Lavinia, the group go their separate ways - the other members of Crime Sorcière heading to an inn that doesn’t care whether you’re wanted or not, Lavinia and Bickslow heading to the latter’s house, and Jaelyn taking her time walking back to her own abode. When she got within sensory range of her home, she could instantly smell Laxus, and she knew that he was waiting for her - whether she wanted him to or not. In all honesty, she’s debating whether or not she should turn around and head to either Erza’s house - or even Lucy’s house if it comes down to it.

Jaelyn stares up at her house, stomach churning when she sees the light on in one of the windows - most likely the open-plan kitchen - but it’s not as uncomfortable as it originally was. Instead her body feels as though it’s on fire, and every inch of it is pleading for her to go inside and give in to her draconic urges and instincts. Unable to deny such forcible and convincing feelings, she adjusts the shoulder strap of her bag and makes her way up the stairs into her house, her mind becoming crystal clear and highly focused; trained on her prey, and prize, waiting in the next room. 

Throwing her bag onto the floor, her feet carry her into the waiting arms of Laxus, her head buried into his chest and her hands clutching at his clothes. They don’t speak, their bodies doing all the talking they need at the moment. It’s purely animalistic, tearing clothes from the other and leaving behind marks that promise to become bruises by morning. Growls and snarls fill the silence of the apartment as their bodies move in harmonised synchronisation; pushing and pulling, and giving and taking. There’s no inbetween as they’re almost _obligated_ to fight for dominance to Mark and Claim each other.

Laxus’ muscles contract and grow as his emotions fluctuate more than usual in response to the cobalt haired girl atop him, leaving small nips and scratches along his flesh, her lower body grinding against his and fangs on full display as she grins at her prey. Jaelyn feels Magic - both hers and Laxus’ - zip along her skin, curling and ensnaring her possessively; the large, rough hands on her hips bruising her pale skin as their hold tightens, laying claim to her more than the small marks scattered along her torso. To the pair, it’s like a frenzy; a battle for blood and finality, but it’s also their way of silently admitting that they need each other no matter what comes.


	53. 50 • Training for the Games

Waking beside Laxus feels strange after the week they spent apart, but she won’t deny that it’s something she’s sorely missed. Shuffling closer to him, she can’t help the smile that spreads her lips as he shifts and wraps his arms around her in his sleep, possessive even when he’s not even conscious; acting upon primal instincts that are rare to be shown when awake. In the safety and security of his arms, she doesn’t feel her usual terror at going back to sleep, so she does just that. Pressing her body against his and closing her eyes, she allows herself to be drawn back into the darkness of sleep - which, surprisingly, actually comes, swallowing her consciousness, even for a short time.

The next time she wakes, it’s with a scream lodged in her throat and her eyes wide in absolute terror. Her skin feels like it’s on fire, and she swears by Mavis that there’s blood coating every bare inch of her body. Fingers knot into her hair as her body folds in on itself, making her a smaller target for whatever cruel and malicious schemes they’ve cooked up. A voice calls her name, pleading and comforting, but there’s echoes of taunting voices calling that same word that overlap in her mind, making her flinch away from the close, familiar voice. Arms hold her quaking body steady, preventing her from injuring either herself or whoever is in the room with her.

“Come on, blue.”

_Blue… _Only one person calls her that.

“Come back to me, blue. You’re here, not there.”

That’s right… It’s been so long since that place…

“Don’t let this control you anymore. You’re stronger than those bastards, baby.”

_Baby?_ “That’s a new one…”

Laxus makes an amused sound. “Course you respond to _that_ one.”

Jaelyn slowly unfurls herself and peers up at him, not sure what to make of this odd man. Sure, he’s said and done some quite unexpected stuff in the past, but he’s never, ever called her ‘baby’ - no matter what kind of fucked up relationship they had, or what situation they were in. Although, she can’t deny that it makes her stomach warm and a strange feeling surge through her body, making her feel so much lighter - and free of the shackles and chains of her past.

There’s a strange light in his learned grey eyes, as well as an unfamiliar softness and, dare she say, love or adoration. An aura of slight darkness is also mixed in with his scent, calling her eyes to search his body for the Mark she already knows is there, decorating the join of his shoulder at the base of his neck. To anyone but another Dragon Slayer, it’d look like a bruise - but, to a Slayer, it appears in its true form: a black, inky dragon with vibrant yellow eyes. It’s tail starts beside Laxus’ pre-existing tattoo and its body is curling up his neck, the head at the end of the neck coming to rest just below his ear.

Jaelyn reaches out and tentatively brushes her fingers over the Mark, Laxus shivering at the sensation that washes over him. “We’re Mated.”

Laxus chuckles and pulls her against him, lightly pressing his lips against the join of her left shoulder and neck and making her shudder. “You don’t sound too thrilled about it, blue.”

“Considering how possessive you are, it’s going to be a fucking nightmare for the first month or so - maybe longer because of _how fucking possessive you are_.”

“Mmm. And how bad is it _really_ going to be?”

She clambers off him and stands in the doorway, making a growl rumble in his chest because of the distance between them. One look from her makes him stop, a frown appearing on his face at the obviously unexpected reaction. Jaelyn has a quick shower before getting dressed; a pair of thick tights and Mystogan’s long-forgotten shirt being the most comfortable for what’s to come. She can’t help but be amused at Laxus’ reaction to her clothes - the darkness that becomes a sheen over his grey eyes - and the feeling she gets from him concerning him considering making her put something else on before she leaves.

Jaelyn laughs and kisses the Second Generation Lightning Dragon Slayer goodbye before making her way to where she knows the other members of Fairy Tail are preparing to make their way to the beach to train. She grins at Gray when she arrives, waving to both Lucy, Natsu and the others before heading over to Erza, placing a hand on the redhead’s shoulder. The Requip Mage looks back at the Dark Dragon Slayer with a smile, but it’s strained in comparison to her usually warm smiles, and the latter knows exactly why; knows exactly who is causing the former to worry.

The trip to the beach is short-lived, but full of Natsu complaining like a baby about his motion sickness and Gray growling for the idiot to shut up. Jaelyn simply huffs and rests her head against the window of the traincar, deciding to ignore it all in favour of nursing her own sickness. Once at the beach, training for the Grand Magic Games begins with little hesitation - everyone heading off to do their own things, or, in Gray and Natsu’s cases, compete against one another: Juvia practices further control over her Water Magic; Wendy heads off to study the spells she received from Porlyusica; Levy, Jet and Droy go off to train on their own; and Happy and Carla doing their own things.

It, thankfully, leaves Jaelyn to herself - allowing her to have the chance to release her Magic Power with no fear of catching her Guild Mates in the torrent of darkness that surrounds her. In all honesty, she’s not entirely sure as to why she agreed to come along on a training trip that she really has no need to be on. She could be back in Magnolia with Laxus, Lavinia and Bickslow, but no, she just had to agree to a trip with a few of the more irritating members of her Guild. In any case, Jaelyn finds herself going over a few of the Dragon Slayer Secret Arts she’s learnt over the few years before being frozen on Tenrou Island.

Sunset is quick to come, calling for the group to meet back on the beach where Jaelyn is surprised to find Virgo waiting for them with a pile of clothes. What’s a further surprise is being invited to the Celestial Spirit Realm to celebrate their return from their seven year slumber on Tenrou Island. Everyone is quick to jump at such a rare opportunity except Jaelyn - who knows just exactly how time works in that place - but she still changes into the remaining clothes - a dress, much to her disgust, but it’ll do the job. Once they’re all dressed, Virgo transports the group to the Celestial Spirit Realm in a matter of seconds, their eyes going wide at how utterly beautiful the place is - and just how many Spirits have popped up to celebrate their return. It’s loud and cheery, and there’s no shortage of anything. It’s pretty crazy to Jaelyn, but she’s never been one for social gatherings of any kind.

“It’s good to see you again, Jaelyn,” Loke says with a sincere smile, eyes flicking to her bared flesh briefly before returning to her face. “And I see that you’ve finally got your Mate.”

Jaelyn runs her hand over the Mark and smiles slightly. “Yeah, I guess I do. Mavis, it’s been too long since I’ve had to put up with your shit, _Leo_. It’s almost boring without your flirty ass.”

“I’ll take that as a compliment.”

“You damn better.”

The party isn't as bad as Jaelyn originally thought it to be, and she finds herself wanting to stay longer when the training team begin to pack themselves up, ready to leave. Natsu and Gray are preparing to return to training before they’ve even left, thinking that they still have three months left. However, Virgo informs the two that time is different when you're in the Celestial Spirit Realm, which, unsurprisingly, the two are happy to hear this due to their thinking that one year at the Celestial Spirit Realm is equal to one day at the human world. However, Virgo tells them that it's the opposite: one day at the Celestial Spirit Realm is equal to three months at the human world, leaving the majority of the group dumbfounded as they are transported back to the human world.

**• • • • • •**

**Hey, superwolves.**

**So, I realised that I've kinda fucked up with the storyline a little...**

**Laxus isn't reinstated into Fairy Tail until after the whole ** ** _Key of the Starry Sky Arc_ ** ** and I've written that he was reinstated _before_ it. I guess I jumped the gun because I couldn't wait to bring my favourite back.**

**\- Chey xo -**


	54. 51 • Second Origins

Returning from the Celestial Spirit Realm to find that three months have passed - leaving only five final days for training - is, well, it’s shock enough for Natsu, Erza and Gray to faceplant in the sand, leaving Lucy to apologise profusely for not telling the trio about the time difference. Jaelyn shakes her head at their further idiocy when Erza and Natsu declare that they’ll go over the top with their training starting the next day. Leaving them to sort it out amongst themselves, the Dark Dragon Slayer makes her way to their lodgings, not overly fussed with their training schedule because she knows they’re going to win the Games no matter what trials they’re forced to face.

“Can I have one fucking day where nothing happens for a change?” the Slayer tiredly sighs, getting comfortable on her designated bed and only partially wishing such a thing comes to pass.

“That’d be pretty boring,” Lucy teases, walking in with Erza, Levy, Juvia and Wendy in tow. “How would we all survive without some drama going on?”

“Have all the fucking drama you want, blondie. I’ve had my fill for the next century at least.”

Nothing else is said, and Jaelyn finds herself slipping off into sleep, lulled by the idle chatter of the other female Mages in the room. Her sleep is plagued by memories that are not hers or Jellal’s, but Laxus’; a maniacal Ivan Dreyar forcing Dragon Lacrimas into his son’s and daughter’s skulls, leaving behind signature scars for the rest of their lives. That fact wakes her a fair time before dawn, and she knows that she’ll be unable to go back to sleep despite the complete exhaustion weighing her body down and begging for her to get more sleep.

Slipping from her bed, she heads down to the beach and sits on the cool sand, staring out over the dark ocean, her stomach churning at the thought of being in a body of water again. Footsteps sound behind her and someone sits beside her, the cobalt hair telling her all she needs to know. Nothing is said, but there’s really nothing that needs saying when you share a mind that only has a flimsy wall to separate what they want to keep from the other. Something is threatening to break itself free of her lips, but she keeps them tightly shut to spare her twin from the agonising truth; not wanting to add fuel to the fire that is his guilty conscience and charred remorse.

Resting her head on Jellal’s shoulder, Jaelyn barely reacts as his arm comes up to wrap around her in a half hug. “Everything that is to come… it will be utter hell for everyone.”

Jellal makes a strange sound, but she knows he agrees with her. “What makes you say that?”

“Tartaros is beginning to stir now that Zeref has returned to the person he was a hundred years ago and has once again seized control of the Alvarez Empire. Who knows what the next few years hold for us with that looming over our heads… There’s no way anything will be peaceful, or go the way we want it to.”

“Jae?”

“Something is telling me that we’re not going to come out of this in one piece, Jel - and that’s something I don’t want to happen… No matter how dysfunctional it is, we’ve found a family, and I just _know_ that Tartaros is going to leave it in shambles.”

“We’ll cross that bridge when we come to it, alright?” He stands and dusts the sand off his clothes. “Right now, we have to get Fairy Tail ready for the Games, and there’s only one way we’re going to be able to do that with only five days left.”

She shoots to her feet, eyes filled with pure delight. “Ultear is going to unlock their Second Origins? About fucking time they got a Power boost! I mean, they’re not going to reach my - I mean, _our _level overnight, but it’s a start.” Looking out over the ocean, she blinks at the sudden brightness from the dawn sun. “We don’t even have out Second Origins unlocked, and we’re already too fucking Powerful for our own goods. Just imagine what were to happen if we unlocked them; we’d be… Mavis, I don’t even know what we’d be…”

“You do - we both do - but neither of us want to say the word.”

“Yeah, I know.” _We’d be monsters._

Sunrise comes and goes, and the members of Fairy Tail are soon more than prepared to go overboard with their training, making Jaelyn shake her head and smile slightly in amusement. As expected a pigeon arrives with a note tied to its leg telling them to head to the broken suspension bridge on the hill - the one place where none of Crime Sorcière are likely to be seen by anyone cruel enough to turn them into the authorities. She can’t help but laugh at how suspicious the members of Fairy Tail are being on their way to the bridge, but it’s not as if she can really blame them - they don’t know what they’re walking into, and she’d be the same in their position.

“The hell?” Gray mutters.

“Nobody's here!” Natsu complains, huffing.

“Why are you so ready for a fight?”

“What was it, just a prank?” Erza muses.

“I said we shouldn't come here, didn't I?” Lucy reminds them.

Their incessant chatter stops as the bridge fixes itself, and Jaelyn looks over at Gray as he jerks back in response, dark blue eyes disbelieving. He looks over at her a few moments later, unsure what to think, and she smiles in response, making her way across the bridge before anyone really has the time to collect their thoughts and think about the possibility of this being a bigger trap than originally thought. She hears their exclamations behind her, and then feels the bridge shudder as Natsu is shoved across it, making both of their stomachs flip and the familiar sickening feeling take over them.

Quickly making her way off the wooden bridge, with her feet planted on solid ground she feels better, she makes her way through the trees, making everyone chase after her. It’s not long before she catches sight of the three other members of Crime Sorcière, and Jaelyn is quick to pull Meredy into a hug - only sending Ultear a faint smile, still not having taken a liking to the other former member of Grimoire Heart. Ultear returns the smile in kind, knowing exactly why Jaelyn hasn’t done so.

“Thank you for coming Fairy Tail,” Jellal announces.

Erza is wide eyed in disbelief. “Jellal!”

“You haven't changed, Erza. Have you already heard how I escaped?”

“Yeah.”

“Although I didn't intend to…”

“Meredy and I broke him out of prison,” Ultear informs.

“I didn't do anything,” Meredy rebukes with a wry smile. “Ultear, you did most of it by yourself.”

It doesn’t take long for the members of Fairy Tail to recognise Ultear and Meredy as members of Grimoire Heart, and Jaelyn’s emotionless as she moves to stand in front of the pair, her eyes dark and daring. Natsu’s hands are flickering with the beginnings of a dangerous blaze, prepared to put an end to them if he feels any need to do so.

However, no fight comes because Erza is quick to diffuse the situation. “Hold on, hold on. They're not our enemies now. Right?”

“Yes,” Ultear replies with a sad smile. “I've committed a number of sins in my life and I know there's no way I can make up for them with the rest of my life, but I want to at least help the people whose lives I've messed up.”

“That's what I thought.”

“People whose lives you've messed up…” Gray muses.

Ultear looks at the Ice Make Wizard. “Jellal and Jaelyn, for example.”

“Don't feel guilty,” Jellal says, quick to dismiss the young woman’s worries and guilt. “We were all possessed by the dark side, and that's in the past.”

“Jellal.” Erza’s voice calls the cobalt-haired male to look at her. “Have you regained your memories?”

“It all came back; I remember everything,” Jellal agrees, pain briefly crossing his face and tightening in both Fernandes twins’ chests. “My memories returned six years ago, while I was in prison. Erza… I really don't know what to say… I'm responsible for what happened with the Tower of Heaven.”

“I was manipulating Jellal, and Jaelyn,” Ultear admits, quick to bear any and all blame when it comes to either of their actions. “So please don't blame him, or her.”

“I was either going to spend my life in prison or be executed. I accepted that fate. Until Ultear and Meredy broke me out, that is.”

“You mean you've found a purpose to live for?” Erza asks.

“Wendy. Come to think of it, the Jellal you know seems to be another person entirely.”

“Yes,” the Sky Dragon Slayer agrees with an embarrassed smile. “I've already solved that one.”

“A purpose to live for… Nothing as noble as that, I'm afraid.”

“We made a Guild,” Jellal continues with a tired smile, watching as his younger sister places her hand over the Guild Mark on the back of her neck. “Neither a proper Guild nor a Dark Guild. We're an Independent Guild. A Witch's Crime: Crime Sorcière.”

“An Independent Guild? What does that mean?” Erza asks. “That you aren't part of an alliance?”

“Crime Sorcière,” Lucy muses. “I've heard of you! I heard your Guild has destroyed many Dark Guilds in the last several years!”

“We have just one purpose,” Jaelyn says with a wry smile, darkness glinting in her dark green eyes. “Zeref and the Dark Guilds. These three formed this Guild to drive away all of the darkness from the world so that not one more Wizard will become possessed by the dark side as we all were.”

“That's great! You should have the Council recognize you as an Official Guild.”

“The prison break, remember?” Meredy reminds the group. “And three of us are former members of Grimoire Heart.”

“Besides, Official Guilds ostensibly have to abide by the Guild Conflict Ban Treaty, even if the other side is a Dark Guild,” Jellal explains. “No, being Independent works for our Guild, but we didn't call you here to introduce ourselves. We heard you're going to participate in the Grand Magic Games.”

“Y-Yeah,” Erza says.

“We can't get near the arena. So there's one favor we would ask of you.”

“You want somebody's autograph?”

“No, thank you. Every year, when the Games are held, we sense a strange Magical Power. We want you to get to the bottom of it.”

“What do you mean? Guilds throughout Fiore gather to participate in the Grand Magic Games, right? You'd expect one or two weird kinds of Magic.”

“That's what we thought at first, too, but that Magic is evil and somehow reminds me of Zeref.”

“It reminds you of Zeref?!”

“Maybe we're able to sense it because we've gotten too close to Zeref in the past. We want to find out where that Magic is coming from. It could give us a clue as to Zeref's location. Of course, this has nothing to do with the outcome of the Games. We'll be rooting for Fairy Tail from the sidelines, but while you're there, we also want you to search for that mysterious Magic.

“That's like grabbing hold of a cloud, but we'll give it a try.”

“We're in your debt,” Ultear says with a smile.

“Are you sure about this, Erza?” Gray asks.

“If there's strange Magic present while all the Guilds of Fiore are assembled, we're at risk, too,” Erza affirms. “We'll pay your fee in advance. Food expenses and rent money.”

“No, I don't mean money. My evolved Arc of Time will raise the level of your abilities,” Ultear informs the assembled Mages. “"Power up" has a ring to it, but that's not really what it is. Wizards have something like a container that determines the limit of their Magic Power. Even if that container becomes empty, for example, the body will automatically absorb Eternanos from the air, and after a while, the container will be full again, but recent research has shown there's a part of the container Wizards possess that normally doesn't get used. It's something that everyone has. Latent ability, Second Origin.”

“Second Origin?” Wendy wonders aloud.

“Arc of Time will develop that container so you'll be able to use Second Origin. In other words, you'll be able to use Magic for a longer time as well as employ Powerful Magic.”

“I didn't get any of that, but…” Gray trails off with a shrug.

“However, you will battle against unimaginably excruciating pain.”

“Her eyes are scary…” Lucy says with fear.

“I don't care! Thank you! Thank you! What should I do?!” Natsu’s acting like an excited child, and Jaelyn can’t help but feel sorry for the younger boy; knowing exactly what he’s about to be faced with. “You seem more and more like a real woman!”

Ultear glares at Natsu. “I am a woman!”

“He's still hung up on that?” Lucy says with a laugh.

The members of Crime Sorcière and the members of Fairy Tail head down to the beach; to a secluded area where there’s less chance for them to be discovered. Soon, all the Fairy Tail Wizards are writhing on the sand, red markings covering their bodies and pained sounds coming from them - well, all except for Erza and Jaelyn that is. The former already has unlocked her Second Origin, and the latter is entirely sure if it’s the best decision for someone as malevolent and powerful as her to have another bump to her Magical Power. Instead of focusing on her Guild Mates, she turns her attention to Jellal and Erza through her Bond with her twin, instantly feeling sick to her stomach.

“Erza…”

“You said you got your memories back, right, Jellal?”

“Yeah.”

“Then, about Simon, too?”

“I killed him.”

“Do you remember about Nirvana?”

“I remember. I remember that I had amnesia then. It feels strange.”

“Can I think of you as the "old" Jellal and treat you that way?”

“That would make me happy but there's still what happened with Simon. I wouldn't blame you if you kept your distance. And if you wish to take revenge for Simon's death, I'm prepared to lay down my life.”

“Do you think that's what Simon would want? You formed a Guild in order to destroy Dark Guilds. That's how you're atoning for your sins. That's what you're prepared to do!”

“I don't know…”

“What?!”

“Certainly, I created Crime Sorcière in the beginning to make amends for my sins, mine and Jaelyn’s, but there's no way we can make up for what we did at the Tower of Heaven. What am I doing this for? I can't get out of this labyrinth of my mind. Maybe I should just die.”

“How can you talk so cowardly?!”

“I'm not as strong as you are.”

“So you can't live if you're not strong?! Wrong! Living shows that you're strong! You're not the old Jellal! You're not the Jellal who struggled desperately to survive!”

In a matter of seconds, Jellal and Erza are tumbling down a rather large sandbank back down to the beach, ending up with the former on top of the latter. Jaelyn smiles to herself at that, hoping that this is the one chance her twin has to tell Erza exactly how he feels, but knowing that there’s no way he will because he believes he has no right to feel that way.

“You may be right,” Jellal admits to the redhead.

Erza glares up at him. “Why, you…”

“You're always right.”

“That's not true. In my own clumsy way, I live my life to the fullest. That's all…”

“Erza… I thought I'd never see you again.”

“Jellal…”

Just before their lips touch, Jellal rips himself away from her. “I can't. I have a fiance.”

Jaelyn slaps her palm to her head. _‘Jellal, you fucking idiotic moron… What the actual fuck is wrong with you, big brother?!’_

_‘You know why… She deserves better than me anyway.’_

“Oh, no…” Erza is clearly startled. “I, uh, I wasn't thinking…”

“No, it's my fault,” Jellal apologises.

“I, uh… I'm sorry. R-Really?! Congratulations! I didn't know! But of course, yeah. Seven years have passed, yeah!” She’s chattering like nothing Jaelyn’s ever heard before. “Is she dear to you?”

“Yeah…”

“Then you have to live for her sake, too.”

“You're right.”

When the destined pair - in Jaelyn’s opinion anyway - return, everyone is slowly recovering from having their Second Origin’s released, and there’s an odd air around them. Jaelyn looks at her older twin and shakes her head in disbelief, knowing that he deserves Erza more than Jaelyn herself deserves Laxus because of the difference in the severity of their crimes over the years. However, all she gets in response is a waning smile filled with thinly disguised pain. He didn’t want to lie to Erza, but he knew he had to in order to protect her.

“Because of the nature of our Guild, we can't stay in one place for long,” Jellal announces. “We're leaving. About the mysterious Magic Power at the Grand Magic Games, if you find something out, report it to us via pigeon.”

“Understood.”

“As for the competition, we'll be cheering you on from behind the scenes, so do your best.”

“I'd really like to go see it for myself,” Meredy says wistfully. “Shall we go in disguise?”

“No,” Ultear replies sternly.

“We'll meet again, Erza,” Jellal says with a smile.

“Bye-bye!” Meredy cheers.

“Give everyone our regards,” Ultear says with a short nod before turning her attention to Jaelyn. “And please take care of Gray.”

Jaelyn sharply nods in reply. “You don’t have to tell me twice, daughter of Ur.”


	55. 52 • Designated Team B

Having two teams for the Grand Magic Games allows for Fairy Tail to have a better chance of winning the blasted thing in Jaelyn’s opinion, and she knows that those who were selected for Team B - Laxus, Juvia, Mirajane, Gajeel and, surprisingly, Jellal - couldn’t agree more. Makarov threw them together without a moment’s hesitation, and put Jaelyn down for a substitute - their secret weapon, if you may - in case something went terribly wrong, for example Jellal’s Mystogan disguise being compromised and him being disqualified from the Games.

“This is going to be one hell of a Grand Magic Games,” Jaelyn says with a smile as she looks over at where Juvia and Mirajane are talking, the blue-haired girl having a wide smile on her face despite being separated from Gray. She smiles softly as Marlie walks over, the slowly learning Exceed absolutely adored by everyone in Fairy Tail and Crime Sorcière. “Hey, little one. Sorry that I was gone for a long time. I hope Bix and  
Lavinia took good care of you.”

“They care for me,” Marlie confirms, nuzzling against Jellal’s chest as he picks her up. “Aunty is getting big. Something wrong?”

“Lavinia’s getting bigger...?” Jellal asks in confusion, realisation slowly dawning on him, making his green eyes widen in shock. “Wait. You’re telling me that she’s...?”

“Holy fuck. Laxus! Oi, sparky!” Her second, somewhat insulting, call gets his attention, and he looks over at Jaelyn with a raised eyebrow. “Your fucking sister is pregnant?!”

The blond Dragon Slayer surges to his feet and stalks at Jaelyn, staring down at his Mate with wild grey eyes. “What?!”

“How the hell don’t you know if she is or not?! It’s your fucking twin sister - and your best friend! I thought you would have been the first to know!” The Dark Dragon Slayer shakes her head and lets out a huff. “Give me a second. I’m going to get in contact with the blundering idiots and see whether what Marlie is telling me is the truth. I really don’t want to be assuming shit here.” Within seconds, she’s gotten in contact with Bickslow with her _Telepathy Magic_. _‘Bix, Marlie’s told me something interesting that I’m sure you’re aware of. Want to explain so I can tell your best friend, please?’ _

_‘Uh, little dragon, what the hell did you do?’_ Bickslow asks, fear threading into his usually mischievous voice. _‘Why’d you go and blurt that out to _Laxus_ of all people?’   
_

_‘Initial reaction. Sorry, not sorry. So spill! Am I gonna be an aunt?!’  
_

_‘We were going to wait until after the Games to tell you, Laxus and Jellal, but I guess there’s no point in that now, _is there_?’  
_

_‘Mavis, I said I was sorry. But that’s awesome fucking news! I’ll just calm sparky down before he sees you again, alright?’  
_

_‘Jaelyn!’_

Cancelling her _Telepathy Magic_, she looks up at Laxus with a wide smile, delight in her dark green eyes. “You’re officially going to be an uncle, sparky, and, technically, so’s Jellal - considering he’s my brother, and you and I are Mated.”

Laxus stares down at her with unreadable eyes before sighing and letting a smile cross his usually emotionless face. “Well, it’s about damn time! I thought we were going to have to lock that pair in a room and wait for a Mating Season to roll around.”

“That’s not the response I was expecting,” Jellal muses, sharing a look with his seven-year-younger twin. “But that’s great news. Although, I have to wonder what the child will turn out like.”

Jaelyn winces. “Yeah, I get what you mean. A Dreyar and a Pradesh... Fuck, that’s like asking for a world of trouble with no reprieve - even more so if she has twins.”

“Imagine a Dreyar and a Fernandes,” Gajeel booms from across the room, fully amused. “Now that’s a match made in hell!”

The room feels as though one of the Nine Demon Gates has encased its entirety in his Demon Slayer ice. Jaelyn’s shoulders become rigid and her jaw clenches, dark green eyes narrowing in a deathly heated glare as they pierce the Iron Dragon Slayer despite the distance between them, making him shudder and quickly excuse himself before incurring more of the Dark Dragon Slayer’s wrath than he already has. The  
Heavenly Body Mage looks down at his younger sister, confusion in his dark eyes until he flinches as though he’s suddenly been struck by lightning when there’s no chance for him to be, seeming to fully comprehend the turmoil broiling inside her mind and instantly know not to say anything despite the itching desire making itself present on his tongue.

On her other side, Laxus’ brow is furrowed in concentration, apparently not being his usual smart self as his mind flicks through the possible reasons behind the temperature dropping and Gajeel leaving in a rush. Although, with the amount going through the Lightning Dragon Slayer’s mind at the present, it’s not as though Jaelyn and Jellal can blame the burly man for his lack of realisation. Although, even a fair distance apart, and connected through their Bond, Gray is even able to somewhat tell what is going on inside the room, his brow furrowed with disbelief and his dark blue eyes seeming to shine with a strange emotion; something akin to delight, by Jaelyn’s best guess.

“That damn iron-headed idiot better keep his mouth shut,” Jaelyn grumbles, creating a small whirlwind atop the table with her _Air Magic_. “He knows better than to irritate me - and what irritates me - but he’s gone and done it anyway.”

“Jaelyn.” Jellal’s barricaded voice makes his younger sister wince, knowing that there’s going to be one hell of a talk later, whether she likes it or not. “I’m not going to say anything here, but we both know it’s going to happen later. No getting out of this one, _little sister_.”

“Mavis, I’m really in for it. You _never_ call me ‘little sister’ like that for no reason - or call me that at all, now that I think about it.”


	56. 53 • Sabertooth’s Twin Dragons

The Grand Magic Games starts in less than fifteen hours, and Fairy Tail has only just arrived in Crocus, the capital city of Fiore. Despite having seen it through Jellal’s memories of the past several years, seeing it in person is a completely different story. Jaelyn is in complete wonder and disbelief, staring at the towering buildings and large amounts of people, almost unable to believe that she’s there. As well as currently seeing it through her own eyes, she’s also seeing it through her twins’ eyes in his memories.

He and Fairy Tail Team B are on the other side of the city, and Jaelyn wishes that she was over there with them. However, Makarov thought it best for her to be away from her brother and her Chosen Mate for a little while to prevent any sort of suspicion from arising. To tell the truth, she isn't particularly fond of that idea, but she’ll go along with the Sixth Master’s request until an hour before midnight.

Fairy Tail Team A head to the HoneyBone Inn and the others head to their designated, non-participant accommodations, Jaelyn trailing behind. Despite her initial reluctance, she finds herself enjoying exploring Crocus despite the fact that there is to be the complete destruction of will and physicality within the next week, and her lack of communication with Jellal, Laxus and Gajeel. She wants to be with her friends, but she can’t. Heck, even Juvia is latched onto Gray’s side right at this very moment.

Letting out an irritated sound, she walks through the dark streets by herself, following two familiar scents that make her smile - actually smile - for the first time in ages. Her feet move faster by the second and soon she’s sprinting to her destination. People are quick to move out of her way as she rounds corners and barges through crowds without a care in the world, but she doesn’t have much patience in order to be nice and wait for people to move.

Jaelyn sees them around the next corner and tears come to her eyes. “Sting! Rogue!”

One dark head and one blond face her, clearly startled at her outburst, and it’s hardly a second later that she has her arms thrown around the pair, holding on to them as best she possibly can. The moment the two other Dragon Slayers realise who exactly she is, they’re returning the hug, and fighting back their own tears at the reunion they’ve wanted for the past seven years. Jaelyn squeezes her eyes shut and buries her face into the join of one of the twins’ neck and shoulder, fingers digging into their upper backs as she tightens her hold just that little bit more.

“I’ve missed you two so much,” she chokes out through her tears, pulling back and staring up at the pair of them. She places one hand on each of their faces and smiles. “You’ve grown so bloody much, and it’s only been seven years.”

“Seven years is a long time, big sister,” Sting retorts, using what they used to call her in place of her name, and that makes her have to bite back a sob. “You, on the other hand, haven’t changed at all.”

“Of course not. Being trapped on Tenrou Island with a spell will do that to you.”

“You’re as cheeky as ever,” Rogue murmurs with a smile, the perpetual glare in his red eyes lessening and his lips quirking up, and she finds it as adorable as ever. “I do hope that never changes.”

Jaelyn wipes the tears from her eyes and grins at the two she came to see as her little brothers. “If I ever stop being myself, do me a favour and remind me who I am right now. The me right now, that’s the person I want to be.” She shakes her head and laughs. “Guess I can’t call you shortasses anymore, hey? You’re taller than me now!”

“Jae-Jae!” Small arms wrap around her legs at the exclamation and she looks down to find Frosch and Lector hugging her. “You’re still alive!”

“Of course she is,” Lector exclaims. “Jae-Jae is super strong!”

Marlie pokes her head over Jaelyn’s shoulder and peers down at the other Exceeds with ice-like eyes. “More kitty cats? Can I meet?”

Jaelyn smiles at the blonde and black Exceed, placing her on the ground alongside Sting and Rogue’s. “Go on, little one. Frosch and Lector are friends. They’re like Happy, Lily and Carla.”

“They Slayer cats too?”

“Yes, now go on. Stop being so shy.” 

She pushes the small Exceed towards the others and then stands back up, smiling at the boys she partially raised. Despite them now being nineteen, she still sees the little twelve-year-olds from back in X784 standing in front of her. Physically they’re all the same age, but Jaelyn is technically twenty-six, and she may well be mentally that old considering she has Jellal’s memories from those seven years she was frozen on Tenrou Island.

“So, Sabertooth, huh? Bit of a change from Phantom Lord, Rogue.”

“I could say the same for you,” Rogue replies, the smile still on his face as he watches Frosch, Lector and Marlie. “Grimoire Heart and Fairy Tail are also quite different.”

“Yeah, well, I wasn’t really meant to get attached to Fairy Tail, it was meant to be more of a ruse, but - what can I say? - I fell in love with it.” Jaelyn grins and scratches the back of her head. “More like fell for some people in it, but that’s not all of it.”

Sting and Rogue share an amused look.

“They didn’t have a family before Fairy Tail, so that’s what they made it - a family. I never really had a family before Fairy Tail, and I didn’t realise they were my family until we woke up on Tenrou a few months back.” A haunted expression crosses her face and she instinctively rubs her upper left arm where her Grimoire Heart brand once branded her, unable to be removed from her body by any means until Mavis somehow removed it. “Grimoire Heart was… a nightmare, if I’m being honest. I may be the Hand of Hades, and the strongest member in that Guild, but even I wasn’t exempt from Hades’ punishments when I slipped up. Dark Guilds are beyond brutal - especially ones like Grimoire Heart, Tartaros and the Oracion Seis. Raven Tail is even borderline torturous, so how they become an official Guild is beyond me.”

“Jaelyn…” Sting trails off.

“The closest thing I had to a family before Fairy Tail was you four, and probably Gajeel, Juvia and Erik. Hell, I may as well count my possessed twin despite him sending me away during the building of the Tower of Heaven.” Jaelyn smiles at the Twin Dragon Slayers through her tears. “But the two of you will always be my family, more than anyone else. Hell, I practically raised the two of you when I found you in X782. You’re my brothers, and nothing is gonna change that.”

“You’re making Frosch cry,” the green Exceed says through his tears, and Jaelyn smiles down at the two crying Exceeds at her feet, Marlie being the only one with dry eyes. “Lector too.”

The cobalt-haired Dragon Slayer picks all three of them up and hugs them tightly as Frosch and Lector begin to truly cry. Without a warning, Sting’s arm is around her shoulders and hugging her to his side, Rogue simply smiling at the two people he cares for most. However, he’s soon dragged into the hug by Jaelyn, who accidentally crushes the three Exceeds between herself and the Shadow Dragon Slayer. Despite that, the cats don’t seem to mind so much.

“You’re our family too, Jaelyn,” Rogue assures the oldest of the trio, red eyes softer than usual as he smiles down at her. “Even if we have to fight you this year, you’re still our sister.”

“Hell yeah,” Sting agrees, grinning widely, his fangs evident. “There ain’t no way you’re ever getting outta that one!”

“I’m a replacement member for the Fairy Tail Team.” Jaelyn smirks cheekily, watching as the Twin Dragons’ eyes widen slightly. “Guess I’m going to have to kick your asses again and teach you both another lesson if I get in the arena with you. This should be fun.”


	57. 54 • The Truth Comes Out

Nearing an hour before midnight, Jaelyn walks into the hotel where the second Fairy Tail team is staying, instantly enveloped in the warmth coming from the team upstairs. She takes the stairs two at a time until she comes face-to-face with a familiar outfit that makes her stop dead in her tracks, dark green eyes wide in disbelief. Despite knowing that her twin was going to dress in Mystogan’s garb doesn’t make it any less hard to see them again, and she almost calls her brother by Edolas Jellal’s name whilst he was in Earth Land.

She nods several times and swallows, scratching the back of her neck. “Yeah, that’s disturbing, big brother. Wanna at least take off that headgear while you’re inside?”

Jellal chuckles but does as she requests, baring his face. “I understand you and Mystogan had a strange sort of relationship while you were both in Fairy Tail.”

“You’re making it sound like they were together or something,” Laxus snarks from where he’s sitting on a couch in the hotel room. “That’d just be weird, man.”

“That’s not what I meant…”

Jaelyn laughs and pats her twin on the shoulder as she walks over to the Lightning Dragon Slayer. “Don’t worry, Jellal. I know what you meant, and you know that what Edolas Jellal and I had was only a brother-sister relationship. After all, you weren’t there, were you?”

Her twin turns his head away from her, hair covering his eyes and the top half of his tattoo. “I’m not going to apologise for sending you away from that hell we called home, but I will apologise for the way I ended up doing it.”

She stops in her tracks and smiles softly at the floor before looking over her shoulder at her twin, both seeing the pain on his face and feeling the pain stabbing in his chest -  _ their chests _ \- at the memory of her being sent away from the Tower of Heaven. It has tormented both Fernandes children for over a decade - almost two decades for one of them - and it’s something that they will never forget despite their best attempts. One downside of Jellal and Jaelyn sharing a mind means that they can both remember everything that they’ve done in the past twenty-six years of their lives, with no chance of ever forgetting. That is, unless, of course, one of them is practically killed and kept in a coma for several months, which really messed with both twins - memories, mentality and Magic included.

Her thoughts continue to brew and she knows that now may well be the best time to tell him exactly what’s been going through her mind that he’s been unable to see for almost their whole lives. From the look on his face, he may not take it well, but now’s probably the only time she’ll get to do this. Looking over at Gajeel and Juvia, they almost instantly know what she’s thinking, and they nod in agreement. Laxus is a different story: he’s hesitant, and that’s because none of them can know how Jellal is going to take the news. However, he agrees within a matter of seconds once he sees the burning determination in Jaelyn’s eyes.

“I know you’re sorry. We’re in each other’s heads, remember? I know everything you know, and you know everything I know; we share our Magic and our limitations and everything else.” Jaelyn’s hands shake and she balls them into fists, trying to withhold her emotions. Her jaw clenches and her eyes burn with the beginnings of tears, leading her to turn her head away from Jellal. “No, that’s a lie. There’s one thing you don’t know; something that I’ve hidden from you since we became aware that we shared practically everything with each other and our Magic grew.”

Jellal looks over at his little sister in confusion, and a little fear. “Jaelyn?”

“I thought I was nothing more than a Thought Projection you made so you didn’t have to be alone.” She licks her dry lips and laughs humourlessly. “What else was I supposed to think when you made Siegrain - not to mention all those others before him? I was afraid I wasn’t even real until I was flung back in time and became a Dark Dragon Slayer - even after that I still believed I wasn’t real. It tore me apart and I no longer gave a damn what happened to me. Hell, I still don’t care what happens to me, but whatever happens to me also happens to you, and I don’t want you to suffer any more than what you already have at the hands of Grimoire Heart;  _ at my hands _ .

“I don’t want to hurt you, but I guess that’s all I’ve ever done.” Jaelyn slams her hand against the wall and grinds out a distorted sob. “I let Ultear continue using you when I found out what she was doing - when I could have easily stopped her. Who fucking does that to their own sibling?” A slightly hysterical laugh passes her lips and she tips her head back to look at a borderline horrified Jellal with wild eyes. “God, I was so angry at you for sending me away, and I was so angry at myself for letting myself believe that I was  _ real  _ for even a second; for thinking that I could have  _ a real life _ at all. I became a soulless beast who cared for nobody and killed anyone who got in my way.

“I let myself get carried away in all that chaos and darkness even after I joined both Grimoire Heart and Fairy Tail, and I only ever let myself feel remotely  _ human _ a handful of times.” The cobalt-haired girl smiles without humour and shakes her head, running her tongue over her upper row of teeth. “There are four people in Fairy Tail that know absolutely everything about me, and four more that know more than the majority of the Fairy Tail Guild. Gray, Bix, Lavinia and Laxus somehow broke down all the walls I built up, and I found myself  _ caring  _ for the first time in a long time.” She looks over at the blond Dragon Slayer with a smile and then over to her twin. “I met two kids -  _ Dragon Slayers _ \- seven years ago that made me feel more human - more  _ alive _ \- than anything, and now they’re all grown up. I didn’t get to see them grow up into the Mages they are today… I was like a big sister to them and they were my little brothers, and I didn’t get to see them grow up…”

Jellal doesn’t let his little sister say anything else before he drags her into a tight hug, startling her and making her freeze, not sure what to do. Sure she’s hugged her brother before, but he’s never been the one to initiate the hug before, so she’s practically flailing while her mind attempts to catch up. In the end, Jaelyn ends up wrapping her arms around her older brother and crying into his clothes. She hates feeling so utterly weak in front of anyone, but most of all her twin, two of her friends, a Guild Mate and her now Mate - despite the latter having seen her in much worse states than this.


End file.
